#white rose

“What the hell is this?!” Weiss screamed, her cheeks burning as she found herself in Queen Dragon’s latest concept, drawn just before a break. “Aren’t these Lumen suits supposed to be armour?!”

Even to those that didn’t have a lick of military nor combat experience, it certainly looked farfrom it.

Most of her body was left completely exposed, the chest plate modeled like a corset conforming to her petite, lithe figure; the mechanical exo-skeleton over her waist and her thighs resembled the straps of a garterbelt and stockings; the heels of her leg armour were raised four inches off the ground and the plating stopped a few inches up her knees, with the armour on her arms was just as skimpy. And as if it wasn’t revealing enough, instead of the usual full body jumpsuit underneath it all, Weiss was drawn wearing a light blue, legless leotard, the only signs it was supposed to be an official uniform being the logo of the Lumania Defense Force, and her future designation:

“Lucky 03”

“I’mprettysure that’s a non-combat model meant for ‘raising morale,’ am I right, Jaune?” Mercury said teasingly, before he elbowed Jaune beside him.

Jaune didn’t react, instead continuing to sit with his eyes squeezed shut, body instinctively braced for serious physical injury.

“Ireallygotta agree with Mercury, Weiss, that thing isn’t armour, it just has…” Ruby muttered, looking at her with extremelymixed emotions. “… Somany glaring design flaws.

“Not to mention its aesthetics!” Coco added, throwing her hand-out. “Ugh, no sense of subtlety, grace, or coyness anywhere…” she muttered, shaking her head.

“And no doubt that Queen Dragon and Hentai-sama are likely collaborating on this.” Glynda finished with a nod.

“Yeah, that totally looks like something he’d draw, or she knows he’d like to see…” Velvet said, ears drooping as she blushed and covered most of her face with her hands, peering through her fingers.

Cinder sighed heavily. “Stars above, I wish those two never became friends…”

“Well, that certainly does explain a lot, thank you, now could you all PLEASE STOP STARING!?” Weiss screeched, trying to cover herself up.

“Oh,come on, Weiss, it’s not like your primary role isn’t fanservice for your audience!” Mercury teased.

“FUCK YOU, MERCURY!” Weiss screeched. “If could take a single step off this page, I would slap youso fucking hard your prosthetic legs will be standing without you!”

Mercury laughed. “Yeah, realthreatening when I’ll just be back to normal the second after, as if nothing ever happened.”

Cinder groaned. “Enough messing around, Black! And that’s an order!”

“Seriously, Major?” Mercury asked, disappointed. “We’re off duty at the moment, aren’t we?”

“We’realsoin the presence of civilians, and I had hopedyou’d at least try to reign in some of your worse impulses,” Cinder snapped back. “We have a reputation to maintain, you know!”

As Cinder continued to rip into Mercury, and Mercury to defend himself, Weiss continued to try and cover herself up, shaking with anger and embarrassment as it was clear no angle and nothing she could would make the outfit any less revealing, clearly trying her damnedest not to cry.

Ruby noticed and frowned, looked around and noticed that Neo was on her phone, ignoring her everything around her. She reached over and poked her on the shoulder, Neo looked up at her curiously.

“BORROW CAN?” Ruby signed, using one hand to point at her mundane umbrella hanging off one of her chair’s arms, then at Weiss.

Neo looked at Weiss, her eyebrows rising and her lips curling into an amused smirk, before she turned back to Ruby, and gave it to her.

“THANK YOU,” Ruby signed with a smile, before she turned to Weiss, and cried, “Hey Weiss! Catch!”

Weiss caught the umbrella, looked confused for a moment, before realization hit and she opened it in front of her; it wasn’t nearly large enough to cover all of her, but it did hide a great deal from the main cast members, and for now, that was enough for her to relax.

“Wow,intentionallyinviting bad luck andcompromising your artist’s vision?” Mercury said in mock shock. “I’m surprised, Weiss! Never thought little miss Class Rep had it in her.”

“For the last time, enough,Black!” Cinder yelled, smoke and embers pouring out of her mouth now. “Or do you wantme to demonstrate how Umbra powers can be used for disciplining misbehaving soldiers…?”

That got Mercury flinching. “Now, now, Major!” he said, suddenly sitting up straight in his chair. “No need for a mini-martial, I’ll behave now.”

“Good,” Cinder said, the smoke and embers quickly fading to nothing.

“I have to say I’m disappointedin your lack of control over your own soldiers, Maj. Fall, especially since you’re supposed to be leading a quick reaction force,” Glynda said. “Then again, I can’t say I’m entirely surprised.”

“And what isthatsupposed to mean?” Cinder huffed, the smoke returning with a vengeance.

“Only that you’re young, inexperienced, and clearlyhave a long way to go before you have begin to have a firm hold on your own unit.” Glynda replied.

Cinder scowled, before she shook her head, and relaxed. “Tch, criticism of my leadership from a civilian… that’s rich.”

“And you say that like you need a military background to detect poor management,” Glynda said quietly.

Cinder’s gripped the arms of her chair, the veins of her hands popping visibly under her skin, the embers and smoke starting to grow into little tongues of flame. Jaune again braced himself for imminent suffering, everyone else looked uneasy as the air suddenly grew heavy and heated, Cinder’s soldiers especially.

Then, Cinder relaxed her grip and calmly turned away from Glynda, the atmosphere lightened up immediately, and everyone else did also. The incident was soon forgotten or shuffled to the back of their minds as Queen Dragon came back from her break and resumed drawing, and quickly started getting serious about her designs.

It was soon obvious that Weiss was her model of choice for designing the new Lumen suits she was making for the crossover; for dozens of styles in the overall form, variations within individual components, and even the most minute of details like the exact shape and configurations of the external and internal indicator lights, Weiss was the one drawn, rather than any other character, a generic, faceless dummy, or free-floating components as earlier.

She drew her standing at rest, at attention, in a variety of “cool” stances for the inevitable group pose for the cover. She drew her preparing to fight, in the middle of close-combat attacks, or firing all manner of configurations of shapes meant to stand-in for weapons. She drew her running, jumping, or even flying about the field via a “Garuda” flight unit, or the much smaller, short-lived thrusters that all of the suits had.

Variations began to narrow down to but a handful of prototypes, quality began to improve dramatically, Weiss began to transform herself, Hentai-sama’s cartoonish and simplistic style being overtaken by Queen Dragon’s much more realistic and detailed designs. By the very end of it, Weiss was a far cry from the hastily sketched, skimpy and fetishistic outfit she had been drawn with hours before.

Now, she stood almost completely covered in plate metal, heavy, bulky, and doubtless capable of taking punishment that would have killed a regular LDF footsoldier several times over. She wielded a fusion between a lance and an energy rifle in one hand, and held her helmet in the crook of her other arm; her iconic ponytail was tied into a tight bun, her posture perfectly straight; and her gaze calm and serious as she looked out to an undrawn battlefield, the opposing army already charging in from the horizon.

“Like a princess about to go to war…” Coco said, smiling and impressed.

And just like that, a bell sounded, the publishing assistants all cheered or heaved sighs of relief, and the studio lights on Weiss began to shut-off—Queen Dragon was calling it for the day.

“Is it all over?” Weiss asked, looking confused as she came out of her pose.

“Yep!” Mercury said, hopping off his chair and stretching his arms, working the servos of his legs. “Don’t worry, I’m sure the Chief will go right back to playing Pretty Princess Dress-Up: War Edition with you by next week.”

“Dismissed, Firebrand! All convene again on Monday as per usual,” Cinder said, as she got up and calmly strode to the exit.

The rest of the cast members started to do the same, until Weiss cried, “Hey!You all forgetting something here?!”

They all turned to look, saw Weiss was still in her Lumen suit, scowling as assistants took away her weapons and helmet.

Mercury smirked. “Can’t even get out of your own Lumen suit, can you, Weiss?” he asked.

“I suppose my never having gone through the requisite training has a great deal to do with it,” Weiss growled. “Now how do I get out?!”

“It’s thought-controlled, Schnee,” Cinder replied as she resumed walking. “Simply think of the suit coming off of you, and it will.”

“Thank you,” Weiss said, before she closed her eyes, and started taking deep breaths.

Everyone but Jaune left the studio, he stopped by the door looking in concern as Weiss still seemed stuck inside her suit. “You having trouble, Weiss?” Jaune asked.

“Some, but nothing I can’t handle!” Weiss replied, eyes still closed. “Just go, Jaune, I don’t want to waste your time.”

“Are you sure?” Jaune asked again. “Because I’m not really doing anything right now…”

Weiss gritted her teeth. “I’m sure, Jaune, now if you can please leave so I can concentrate, this is apparently harder than it sounds.”

“Maybe I can–” Jaune started.

“Go,Jaune.” Weiss said, glaring icily at him.

Jaune winced, before he awkwardly shuffled out with the last of the publisher’s assistants. The lights shut off, Weiss sighed internally, before she closed her eyes and resumed trying to get out of her suit. A minute later, she was still wearing it, the frustration now clear on her face, her gloved hands clenching tightly.

There was a knocking on the door, Ruby poked her head in and asked, “Hey Weiss?”

“What is it?!” Weiss snapped.

Ruby was unfazed as she replied, “I was wondering if you wanted to go check up on Diana with me, seeing as we missed the emergency meeting earlier and all.”

“… Oh.” Weiss said, calming down. “Has she texted again?”

“Nope, not a peep out of her since,” Ruby replied.  

“Then I’ll have to decline, and encourage you not to do so in the first place,” Weiss said. “She’s likely having some personal time, and you know how she likes it long and uninterrupted.”

Ruby nodded. “Fair point.” After a brief pause, she said, “So, do you need any help getting out of your suit?”

Weiss sighed, her shoulders slumping. “Yes please… I don’t want to be stuck in this thing till I show up for the new chapter on Monday.”

Ruby chuckled as she approached. “Nobody does, these suits are meant for battle, after all.”

“Is that why don’t have any conveniently located ‘Off’ switches?” Weiss asked sarcastically.

“Yep!” Ruby replied, nodding her head. “Umbra are always smarter than we’d like them to be, so if we put anything like a switch, or even a voice command to take off the suits, I’ve no doubt that Anoke would make it so that they could find some way to press it, or mimic the exact voices of the wearers, force them out of the suit and kill them while they’re completely unprotected.”

“That’s…incrediblydisturbing.” Weiss said slowly.

“There’s a good reason we have the content warning in front of every chapter,” Ruby said gravely, before she lightened up and said, “So, what have you been thinking about, exactly?”

“Pardon me?” Weiss asked.

“Sorry, ‘What things have you been thinking of to try and get the suit off of you?’ is what I should have asked,” Ruby replied.

“I’m still confused, Ruby,” Weiss replied.

Ruby blinked, before she snorted and facepalmed. “Oh, right, you don’t have any training! Sorry, back in our series, no one even got to touch the suits without the proper training, let alone be in one… anyway, we users tend to use mental association and physical cues to help get our suits off. Mine is imagining me shrugging off a jacket or a cloak, while moving my shoulders like this,” she said, demonstrating it.

“Wow, what a clever, convenient, and helpful piece of information I could have seriouslydone with earlier!” Weiss said, scowling.

“Sorry again,” Ruby said. “Want to try it?”

“I suppose there’s no harm…” Weiss muttered, before she closed her eyes and mimicked Ruby.

After a few moments, it definitely wasn’t working. “Am I doing something wrong here?” Weiss asked, frowning.

“Maybe you should try something that’s more comforting and relaxing instead,” Ruby replied.”Like, ah, imagine yourself going to sleep all curled up in your bed; slowly sinking into a nice, hot bath; maybe even vegging out on the couch while you settle in with a nice book or your favourite TV shows.

“Lots of users tend to do just that after getting back to base, making for very strong mental association.”

“Yes, that might work much better,” Weiss said, before she closed her eyes and tried again.

A minute later, still no change.

“Is it still not working?” Ruby asked.

“No…” Weiss muttered. “I can’t stop thinking about the fact that Hentai-sama was probably drawing me like that for an ecchi scene…”

“Hrm, you’re right…” Ruby said, frowning. She furrowed her brow, looking deep in thought, until her eyes brightened up and she snapped her fingers. “I’ve got it!”

“What’s the plan?” Weiss asked.

Ruby circled around behind Weiss, held out her arms, and cried, “Trust fall!”

“Trust fall?” Weiss asked, confused.

“Yeah, trust fall!” Ruby replied. “Just let yourself completely relax, and imagine falling right into my arms.”

“Won’t this likely result in me falling right out of this suit in reality?” Weiss said, looking behind her and at Ruby.

“Which is why I’m standing here like this, duh!” Ruby said.

“And you’re sure you can catch me instead of breaking my fall?” Weiss asked.

“Of course!” Ruby replied. “Just because we have superpowered suits doesn’t mean we get to skimp on basic training and physical conditioning on the reg. Believe me, I can catch and carry you, easy!”

Weiss still looked doubtful, but still, she turned around, closed her eyes, and let herself completely relax. Almost immediately, air started hissing out of previously hidden seams, the back of Weiss’ armour folded out, the actuators inside the exoskeleton gently pushed her out. She fell, tensing up as she felt the air rushing past her for a brief moment, was still tense as strong, firm arms wrapped around her, and gently, carefully lowered back down to her feet.

“You can open your eyes now, Weiss,” Ruby said as she let go of her.

Weiss did, looking at her empty suit closing again, before she turned around to face Ruby, smiling. “Wow… it actually worked! Thank you, Ruby.”

“Told ya,” Ruby said, smiling back.

There was brief moment of silence, the two of them just looking at each other, Weiss quickly growing uneasy. “Is… something wrong, Ruby?” she asked.

“Just taking in how different you look, Weiss,” Ruby said.

“Is it a ‘good’ different or ‘bad’ sort of different…?” Weiss asked.

“Good,verygood,” Ruby said quietly. “You look so beautiful, Weiss…”

Weiss blushed, her lip quivering, her body starting to tremble. There was a part of her that told her to get ready for the script to compel her to yell at Ruby for complimenting her, maybe even slap her before she turned away and sulked, calling her a “baka”under her breath…

… But there was no script, no author forcing her to do something, no one making decisions for her but herself.

And what shedecided, was that–

Bang! Bang!

“Yo, anyone in here?!” a female voice called out. “Ruby?”

One of the doors to the studio burst open, the bright lights of the hallway outside poured in, blinding Ruby and Weiss. They instinctively flinched and cried out, Ruby shielding her eyes with her arm, Weiss turning away from the light and hiding her face.

“Oh,shit!I am sosorry,totallydidn’t mean to interrupt whatever was going on here!”

Ruby lowered her arm, squinted as she tried to make out the new arrival. “Yang? Is that you?”

“Yep!” Yang replied, waving quickly. “Just going to be waiting outside now, feel free to just come out whenever, or just text! Okay, buh-bye!”she said, before she closed the door again, plunging them back into darkness.

Ruby frowned in confusion, before she shrugged, and turned back to Weiss. “You okay, Weiss…?” she asked.

“I’m fine…” Weiss said through gritted teeth, her face still turned away from the door.

“You sure…?” Ruby asked, stepping towards her. “Because you don’t–”

“I’m.Fine.”Weiss repeated icily, her hands balling into fists.

Ruby nodded slowly, before she pointed to the doors. “I’ll just be going now… see you, Weiss.”

“Bye…”Weiss said tersely.

Ruby stepped out of of the studio, very carefully pulling open the door to keep the light from hitting Weiss again. After some brief, muffled conversation between her and Yang filtering in from the other side, they went down the hallway and were gone.

Weiss pulled out her phone, turned on the camera, and checked herself out. Already Queen Dragon’s design was fading away, her face rapidly losing much of the fine detail and semi-realistic qualities, turning back into Hentai-sama’s simplistic, cartoony style, her hair magically loosening from its bun.

A massive, glowing red vein popped up on her head, before Weiss screamed.

Note: This story has morphed into existential angst/horror and lesbians. Be warned.

SLAM!

“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” Cinder yelled, her chair screeching across the floor as she shot up.

Akko winced, as did some of the other protagonists in the meeting room. At the head of the table, Papuru-chan was unfazed, still smiling as she always did. “Now, now, Cinder-kun, you’re supposed to be an elite soldier, aren’t you? You’re not supposed to get this emotional over orders!”

“I can when the orders are a joke!” Cinder shouted back. “This is a joke, right?! Just another pitch for an advertisement, or another damned 4-koma?! Because you can’t seriously be saying that I’m going to have to spend an entire month, doing double-shifts with him!”she cried, thrusting her finger at Jaune.

Jaune flinched, before he shrank into his seat even more than he already had.

“It’s official,” Papuru-chan said calmly. “We have the new contracts they signed specifically for the anniversary, actually, would you like to see them…?”

Cinder’s eyes widened. “She agreedto do this?!”

“Hai-hai…!”Papuru-chan beamed. “Don’t worry though, Queen Dragon-sama is being compensated generously for her extra time and effort, and Publisher-tono believes that this event will help bring in evenmore readers from all the buzz we’ve been getting!”

Cinder gritted her teeth, a tendril of black smoke leaking out from her mouth. “So this all about the money…”

“It’salwaysabout the money,” Amanda said as she lounged on her seat, her boots resting on the table. “Geeze, I know you’ve only been pro-published for a few months, but did you seriouslynever realize this before now?”

Cinder heaved a heavy sigh, before she pulled her chair back, sat down with her arms crossed and an aura like the heat radiating from a giant, smouldering wreck. How the other protagonists sitting right next to her managed to keep their cool, Akko didn’t know.

“Okay!” Papuru-chan said as she picked up her projector remote again. “Now that that’s been resolved, here’s the rest of the pair-ups for our first anniversary’s Grand Crossover Extravaganza…!”

The rest of the meeting went on without incident, reactions to the other odd or questionable duos far less violent than that of Cinder’s, before Papuru-chan went into more general matters like reviews, sales numbers, and the other upcoming events outside of their control such as conventions.

“… And that’s it!” Papuru-chan said, clapping her hands and turning the lights back on. “You’re all dismissed, everyone!”

The protagonists all stood up, bowed and said the usual formalities,  before shuffling out the conference room, heading down the stairs or the elevators leading back to their respective series’ domains.

“You.Jaune.”

… Except for Jaune, who found himself freezing as Cinder put a hand on his shoulder.

Akko watched uneasily as he slowly, verycarefully turned around, just barely maintaining the look of calm on his face. “Y-Yes, Maj. Fall…?” he asked.

“You and I are going to have a longtalk about this crossover business… privately.”

Jaune gulped, and mechanically nodded his head. “S-Sure, anything you say, Major,” he muttered, before Cinder quickly marched him off into a smaller meeting room a little ways away.

Akko watched them go, the internal conflict clear on her face.

Amanda shook her head as she stepped up beside her. “Don’t. Seriously, just don’t,”she said quietly and firmly. “There’s nothing good that ever comes out of interfering her when she’s in a mood like this.”

Click.

The door shut behind Jaune and Cinder in the meeting room, a dark miasma like black smoke and fading embers began to emanate from beneath the door.

Akko instinctively stepped away from it and into Amanda, she calmly put her hands on her arms. “See?” Amanda said. “Just turn around, and walk away,” she said, coaxing Akko in the other direction.

“But it doesn’t feel right to leave to just leave him like this!” Akko cried, resisting. “Shouldn’t we be helping him? Protagonist to protagonist?”

“’Look out for yourself before others,’ it’s the way of the Horizon as much as it is everywhere else,” Amanda replied, shaking her head as she let go Akko. “Besides, he’s a Romantic Comedy Harem Protagonist—he’s madefor surviving anything a woman can throw at him. If they aren’t throwing him, anyway,” she added with a chuckle.

Akko sighed heavily. “I guess you’re right…”

“Because I am,9 times out of 10,” Amanda said, grinning, before she patted Akko on the side, and headed to the elevator. “Welp, see you, Akko, gotta go back to the studio to celebrate the rest of that ‘Welcome Back’ party with the Niva’li, go do the fun stuff Boss-lady can’tshow on-panel anymore,” she said, chuckling.

“Wait, Amanda!” Akko cried, stepping towards her.

“Yeah?” Amanda asked, looking over her shoulder as she pressed the call button.

“Do you want to go get our casts together and discuss the crossover sometime?” Akko said.

“What for?” Amanda asked, confused.

“Well, you know, some of them might have problems with it like Cinder did, and maybe we could help them work through it?” Akko replied.

“And…?” Amanda asked.

“… That was it.” Akko replied.

Amanda sighed, and shook her head. “Look, Akko: whether or not any of us likethis latest cash-grab gimmick isn’t important, whatever the creators want us to do, we’ll do it; that’s the reason they gave us life, and that’s the only reason we’ll keep on having it.”

Ding.The elevator arrived.

“It was like that back when we were still a webcomic, it’ll be like that for as long as Boss-lady feels like we’re worth her time and talent,” Amanda said as she stepped in. “And honestly, I don’t know why anyonewould be against anythingthat helps keep them drawing you for another day.

“Last chance to come with, by the way!” she said as she held the doors open. “I promised those blue-skinned bikini babes I’d be back within 10 minutes of that meeting ending, and you bet your ass they’re counting the seconds.”

Akko sighed, and said, “I’m good, you enjoy your party.”

“Thanks, feel free to come by if you change your mind,” Amanda said, grinning as the doors closed.

Akko stood there for a few moments, before she sighed and turned away, quietly debated what to do next.

Click.

She jumped as the black miasma from earlier spilled out from the now open door, filling the hallway like a fog machine from hell. Cinder strode out in the middle of it all, an ominously cool, calm expression on her face, Akko stepped back even further and well out of Cinder’s way as she headed down the stairs.

Moments later, Jaune’s trembling hand came out from the blackness, his knuckles growing white as he gripped the frame and tried to pull himself out on shaky, unsteady legs. Akko immediately rushed over to help him, slung his arm over her shoulders as she carried him out of there, to a row of chairs beyond the unnerving mist.

“Thanks…” Jaune mumbled as she lowered him on one of the seats.

“Iie,”Akko asked as she sat behind him. “Mind if I ask what happened back there?”

“Graphic stuff waybeyond our 15+ rating…” Jaune said as he pulled himself up to a more comfortable position, the strength slowly returning to his limbs.

“Like…?”Akko asked.

“You sure want to ask…?” Jaune said. “It gets messed up.”

“I’ve been to some of Amanda’s arc-end parties, trust me, I knowmessed up.”

“Fair.” Jaune said. He sucked in a breath, and after a moment’s hesitation, he said, “Cinder said if my hands or any other part of me so much as grazes her butt, her boobs, or anywhere else important, accidental or not, she’s going to shoot my dick off with a laser.”

“Ah.”

“Is it–” Jaune stopped and hesitated, looked at Akko; when she nodded, he continued, “Is it weird to be worried about losing my dick if I never really ever get to use it, and probably never will?”

Akko thought about it. “Hrrmm, I can’t speak with 100% confidence as I don’t have a penis myself, but I have struckother actors and been struck in the crotch, and I’d say worrying about getting your penis shot off with a laser is legit, ‘cause it sounds like it’ll really, really, reallyhurt.”

“Huh, guess so,” Jaune muttered. “Guess I didn’t really consider that part.”

Akko nodded. “Hey, if you don’t mind, I’ve been meaning to ask: does it ever start hurting less over time, all the abuse you get?”

“No, no it really doesn’t,” Jaune said, shaking his head. “I guess that’s just one more thing that makes me ‘The Unluckiest Lucky Man in the World’…”

Akko reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

Jaune smiled. “Thanks.”

“Iie,anytime,” Akko said, smiling back.

Editor’s assistants soon came to fetch Jaune, talking about how he was due for a round of concept art, chiding him for not answering his company phone. “Oh, sorry!” he said, pulling it out of his pocket as he was ushered away, “I think I forgot to take it out of silent mode when I left the meeting!”

Realization hit Akko as she pulled out her own phone, opened it and noticed a text from Diana, sent several minutes ago:

“Emergency meeting. NOW.”

“OMW ASAP”Akko quickly replied, before she dashed to the stairs.

She was sweating and out of breath by the time she arrived at the meeting room. Diana the only other character there, her snake-half coiled so tightly around her it was like she was about to spring into an attack, her claws clutching the papers in her hands so tightly her nails had already ripped holes straight through each page.

“I’m here,” Akko said breathlessly, weakly rapping her knuckles on the door.

“Hello, Akko,” Diana said tersely, the paper crumpling even further in her grip. “Forgive me, if I don’t fetch the refreshments like I usually do, I am working through some rather volatile, intenseemotions right now.”

“No problem,” Akko wheezed as she walked over to the mini-fridge, pulled out a bottle of water, and settled herself on the couch. After a handful of swigs, she looked around, and asked, “Ruby and Weiss aren’t coming?”

“No, they and the rest of their cast members have been summoned by Queen Dragon for concept art,” Diana replied. “Ruby says she’s simply relishingthe opportunity to design more of those Lumen suits,  so I suppose that makes at least oneperson happy about this whole business…” she hissed.

Akko nodded sympathetically, before she pulled her handkerchief out of her pocket and wiped herself down. Eventually, the two of them both cooled down, Akko’s breathing returning to normal, Diana relaxing her grip on the papers and the rest of her body, her tail spilling out around her as she slumped in her seat.

Akko sighed as she took one last sip of her water, stuffed her handkerchief back into her pocket. “Okay, I’m good… I’m guessing you want to talk about this…?” she said as she screwed the cap back on.

“Yes,” Diana said, before listlessly holding up the crumpled, punctured memo. “I can guarantee you now, this ‘Crossover Extravaganza’ will NOT fare well for you…” she muttered.

“I know that.” Akko replied. “Director-sama isn’t exactly shy about taking his own advice on the importance of conflict!”

“It’s not Mr. Oreon I’m worried about, it’s the Mistress M.” Diana mumbled. “I…” she sighed and looked down “… had thought it would never to come to this, as we’ve only only ever really worked together for the sake of promotions, merchandise, and silly, lighthearted 4-panels. But now that our creators are collaborating and sharing our casts, I can all but guarantee you that the Mistress M has only the absolute worstin store for you, suffering on a level you hadn’t thought possible, in ways you could have never expected.”

She looked up, sorrow in her reptilian eyes as she said, “And I am certain I will be the means by which she delivers it to you.

“I wish for you to know, Akko, that I am deeply, terribly sorry for anything and everything that I will be scripted to do upon you and your fellow cast members, and that I will not blame nor hold against you or anyone else any drastic changes in your opinion of me, how you speak to me, and how you act around me, if you even choose to interact with me on a voluntary basis.”

Akko looked at her in confusion. “What are you even apologizing for, Diana? It’s not going to be your fault, it’s the scripts’!”

“And those scripts will be written in part or in whole by the Mistress M.” Diana said flatly.

Akko grew concerned, and asked, “Is it really going to be that bad…?”

“Worse, even,” Diana replied. “Her creativity can be just as cruel and gruesome as it is wondrous and beautiful. Be quite thankful that here, she has the regulating forces of her editor, the threat of losing her primary income, and age and censorship laws. But even still, things will never be the same between us after this event is over, I guarantee it.”

“Why do you sound so sure of everything…?” Akko said, frowning.

“Because it’s happened before, and nothing is giving me any indication that this time will be any different,” Diana said ruefully.

Akko stewed for a few moments in her seat, before she suddenly got up, and strode over to Diana with her “Determination Face” on.

“Akko, what are you doing…?” Diana asked.

“Take my hand, Diana!” Akko cried as she thrust it towards her.

Diana looked at her with curiosity and concern, before she slowly, carefully obeyed, wrapping her claws around the back of Akko’s hand.

“Let the land, the sea, and the stars bear witness!” Akko cried in her “theatrical” voice, before she knelt before Diana, hand on her chest, gazing into her eyes as she said, “I, Kagari Atsuko, do swear to you, Diana Cavendish, that our friendship will stay strong and survive the Papuru Fiction Grand Crossover Extravaganza! This I swear, on my honour as the Guardian of the Fallen Star!”

Diana blinked, her lips tugging into a small smile, before she shook her head. “You know that the Promessaonly works within your series…”

“I know,” Akko said, smiling as she went back to her normal voice. “But magically binding oaths or no, I’m still promising I am going to do everything I can, just for you~”

Diana’s cold-blooded, demonic nature rendered her incapable of things like blushing, but it was quite obvious that Akko’s actions had had an effect on her…

… Except to Akko herself, who calmly let go of Diana’s hand, and went back to her seat. “So, got anything more to get out of your chest?” she asked as she plopped down on the couch.

Diana’s features fell. She opened her mouth, then closed it, quietly suppressing the emotions stirring within her, before she said, “No, I’m sure that’s all I have, and any other grievances can be aired after yours. Do you have any?”

“Well, it’s not really a ‘grievance’ so much as a question that’s bugging me…” Akko murmured.

“Go ahead, Akko,” Diana said, sitting up and laying her hands on her lap. “I’m listening.”

“Do you think it’s weird to care about losing a body part off-panel, when it’ll just come back the next time we’re on the job?” Akko asked.

“It depends,” Diana replied. “Which body part is it? If it’s something as vital as your hand or an entire leg, it’ll surely affect your qualify of life.”

“But what if you never really ever get to use it, on-panel or off?” Akko asked. “Like, would it matter if someone shot your penis off, if you never have and probably never will use it for the bathroom or sex?”

Diana blinked. “… Pardon…?”

Note: Queen Dragon is half-Japanese/Half-American, raised in Japan. She is well aware that Queen Dragon-sama is grammatically incorrect and redundant, but it helps differentiate her from another popular mangaka who also has Dragon in her pen name, which is why interviews and Papuru-chan refers to Queen Dragon as such.

They know each other, but have no interactions nor relations, being from different publishing houses and catering to different audiences.

Elsewhere in the Grove during the duels, Weiss was in her nest, Penny snuggled up to her chest, Cheese and Winter’s summons around her for company, menial tasks, and/or food as she watched holos through Penny’s projector. (The quality was far superior than her comm-crystal’s.)

“I feel it… the purity of their love…!”screamed the monster of the week. “This is it… the power, of YURI!”

A wave of purple-black miasma shot out of the monster, washing over the convention floor, reality itself beginning to warp and change as bright, prismatic energy was sucked out of them.

Hina gasped. “Akane, Aoi,look!All the couples, the anime and manga, even the doujins and the fan art—they’re all losing their gayness!”

“Youmonster!”Aoi screamed. “Do youknow how long that slow-burn was between Diya and Nene?! This is an affront to allof Girls Love!”

“You’re going down, Yarama!” Akane screamed as she whipped out her spear, Hina and Aoi doing the same with their weapons.

“Piper, this show is so fucking stupid…” Weiss muttered.

“Would you like to change to something else?” Penny asked through an annotation on the holo.

“I didn’t say I wasn’t enjoying it!” Weiss said.

A fight sequence began, the tables and displays being torn up and destroyed from the empowered monster, the heroes trying their best to spare the panicked, confused convention goers, and the merchandise, too, if they could help it.

“Face it, Spiral Hearts!” the Yarama cried. “The power of women loving women is just too strong!”

“That is true…” Hina replied “… but it’s not as strong as the truefans of yuri, those who make and support new content for fans everywhere, not filthy parasites like you! Akane! Aoi!”

“On it!” they both cried, before they all joined their weapons into one giant cannon. “For the love of all that makes our lives worth living… SPIRAL PIERCER…!”

The projection suddenly stopped, Penny’s eyes flashing green.

“What happened?” Weiss asked amid the disappointed growls and groans of the summons.

“It seems there was a serious accident during Jaune and Pyrrha’s training!” Penny replied, untangling herself from Weiss’ arm, then hovering towards the window. “I’m afraid my medical expertise is needed on-site, apologies, Weiss.”

“Don’t you just have first-aid equipment right now?” Weiss asked as she sat up.

“Yes, but I still have my treatment database, patient history, and high-precision scanners,” Penny replied. “I’ll inform you of any new developments as soon as I can!”

Weiss sighed, frowning as she watched Penny fly out the window and out of sight. One of Winter’s summons gently prodded her on the side, and gestured to her comm-crystal charging on a dock in the corner; she turned to them and shook her head. “You’ll have to find out what happens next later, I’ve got a hunch I need to investigate,” she said as she stood up. “Help me get dressed, everyone!”

The summon sighed, before everyone available either fetched Weiss’ garments from the closet, or helped her put it on. “Cheese, you’re coming with me,” Weiss said as she scooped what remained of him from his plate, now just a small blob no bigger than her hand.

c:

“I’m heading out to the training grounds!” Weiss said as she passed by Winter in the living room.

“Don’t try to squeeze in more exercise when you’re supposed to be recovering, I really didmean that was the only time I’d carry you back!” Winter replied, not looking up from the Nivian-Actaeon book she was reading.

“I won’t, sheesh! It’s been what, four years since that happened?” Weiss said as she opened the door.

“I know you, Weiss, it takes a long while for you to give up on something you’ve put your mind to,” Winter replied as she turned the page.

Weiss shook her head as she shut the door behind her, called for the elevator before taking a bite out of Cheese.

He was down to just his soulstone by the time she arrived, by which point Jaune was securely strapped to a spine board and being carried away by Taiyang and Nora, Ren and Penny following them with medical supplies.

Futher away, Yang was on a bench, comforting the rather glum looking Pyrrha sitting beside her. After a few moment’s consideration, Weiss stepped over and asked, “May I ask what the hell happened to Jaune thistime?”

“We were dueling, and I accidentally threw him far harder and further than I intended,” Pyrrha replied. “His landing was… ugly.”

“Should I…?” Weiss asked uneasily.

“In short: he looked a human pretzel,” Yang said. “Just so you know, the un-pretzeling process wasn’t pretty, either.”

“Uh… huh…” Weiss mumbled. “Do you need me to stay, or should I just leave…?” she asked, thumbing behind her.

“If your brain is functioning enough again for Pit Fighter business, sure!” Yang said.

“I’ve made quite a lot of progress on the weapon choice front, it’d be a shame to waste this time,” Pyrrha added.

Weiss nodded, and sat down with them. “So how’s it going, exactly?”

“If we’re being thorough about it, I’m halfway through the process,” Pyrrha replied. “I still haven’t explored any of the Fae firearms that weren’t almost-complete replicas of AFA armaments, but now I know for sure that I have a solid idea of what I’m looking for in melee weapons.”

“And what would that be?” Weiss asked.

“Something versatile with reach, coupled with a shield and elemental mediums for an all-rounded offense or defense,” Pyrrha replied. “Weiss’ temporarily limited powers aside, both of you are highly specialized fighters, and I’d rather not lose a good chunk of our effectiveness, or expose glaring weaknesses in our defenses should one of you be downed, or otherwise indisposed. Whether it’s defending against attacks from any range, leading a charge into our enemies, or wreaking some elemental havoc, I’ll be ready for it.

“That being said, I haven’t seen what Fae ranged weapons can bring to the table, and if the melee weapons were any indication, they should be quitethe learning experience.”

“You should probably join us at the firing range later, Weiss!” Yang said. “Get a feel for how the Fae deal death from a distance.”

“I’d rather not,” Weiss replied. “After all that training at the Terrace, my arms will definitelybecome too sore to even holda gun as soon as I’m hit the recoil.”

“I meant in a mental, tactical sense, see what you might go up against in person!” Yang replied. “You’ve barely seen anyone really use a ranged weapon outside of all-out war where tracking who fired what was the least of your worries. Plus, the special ammo will give you a great idea of what happens when you mix elements up—nothing wrong with your using pure, but you miss out on useful things like Melty Wash that way.”

“’Melty Wash…?’” Weiss asked.

“Melty Wash,” Yang repeated, nodding. “It sounds just as stupid in Actaeon, don’t worry.” She winced as her stomach growled. “Ugh, all this drama made me forget how hungry I am—come on, let’s go get some grub and a nap, then on to lighting shit up!” she said, getting up.

Weiss shrugged. “Alright, fine, I’ll go!” she said as she hopped up. “I figured I needed to get out of bed and do somethingproductive today, anyway…”

Jaune was left in the cabin he bunked in, Taiyang and Penny stayed behind to take care of him and keep him company. Everyone else had lunch and rested a while, before discussing Pyrrha’s firearms training.

As elementally-infused ammo, alchemical grenades, chemical weapons and the like needed to be specially ordered by and used under the supervision of a senior watcher or other qualified individual, and Qrow was fartoo drunk at the moment, they started out with the standard Fae firearms.

In contrast to the practical, sleek, and streamlined AFA guns Pyrrha was used to, the Fae practically made it a point to have their guns as flashy and embellished as possible. Every one of them seemed to have as many engravings, stylized components, and decorations as they could possibly add without compromising function toomuch, like an iron sight made out of some long-dead predator’s skull, the gun barrel coming out of its jaws

Metal and wood were the materials of choice for most of them, all manner of colours, grains, and sheen from the varieties, mixtures, and treatments, with the rest of the parts made from bone, rock, crystal, plant fibers, and whatever else the Fae could get their hands or hand-equivalents on. There was barely any built-in magitech to be seen, no small-form targeting systems, recoil adjusters, or ammo management systems, just physical springs, levers, hammers, revolvers, and whatever else.

And almost all of them were powerful,even the quietest guns having massiveimpact.

Thip.Crack.Thip.Crack.Thip.Crack.

Pyrrha fired her “Fang Gun” into a log target, each bone projectile lodging an inch or two deep into the wood, splinters flying out from the holes, the cracks clearly audible to Weiss even as she watched from wellaway to the side.

She stopped after six shots, putting her rifle down and massaging her arms. “Not the kind of gun you fire just for fun, is this?” she asked Ren.

“Not unless your idea of ‘fun’ is accuracy competitions, or clean hunting kills,” Ren replied calmly. “Shall we focus on lower-caliber weapons that are easier to fire for sustained periods, such as repeaters? Most every Fae firearm hits the user almost as hard as they do the target.”

“No,” Pyrrha replied, picking the gun back up, and aiming for a farther target. “I suppose I’ll just have to learn to make every single shot a hit from here on out!”

Ren nodded. “One well-placed bullet’s all you really need, most of the time.”

“And the rest?” Pyrrha asked.

Ren smiled. “Twobullets.”

After Pyrrha started getting used to the intense recoil, and firing farless frequently than she would have with human guns, they started planning which weapons she was to try out, how she was going to test them out, and who would be involved.

Everyone except Weiss donned a set of armour; a small arena was built by a copse of smaller trees with the help of deployable cover, ballistic shields, and the foliage; and several dozen crates of ammo were carted out of storage, their contents transferred to smaller boxes set around the area, or to loaded into all manner of belts, bags, and quivers just waiting to be strapped on.

Before Pyrrha’s first live-fire exercise, however, Ren wanted to demonstrate how Fae opponents would be using firearms themselves, exchanging his usual sickles for two “Shredders,” Fae-style SMGs.

“The first thing you need know is, except for heavy weapons like Hailstorm cannons or extreme long-distance weapons like Shardslingers and Farslingers, Fae tend to prefer shooting on the move, and most can shoot quite accurately and survive getting shot at also,” Ren said as he loaded one of his guns with a clip.

He dashed towards some training dummies, shredding their canvas coverings with short, accurate burts. He maneuvered around their cover and shot them from behind, slid on the ground to slip through tiny gaps and holes in defenses, even leaped off a ledge and fired the last of his clip in mid-air.

“Predicting your enemies movements and firing where they will be in a second is a helpful skill in lower ranks, and absolutely vital as you move up,” he said as landed, pulled out his second shredder and loaded them both.

“The second is that, thanks to our biology and engineering advancements, dual-wielding guns isn’t as stupid and dangerous idea to us Fae as it is to you humans,” Ren said as he adjusted the stocks, shortening them and fitting them over his forearms. “In fact, it’s actually quite popular inside the Pits, both as a stylistic choice and a significant combat advantage.”

He calmly crossed a bridge lined with target dummies, both guns blazing and ripping apart targets on both sides, casually bending his arms further and more dramatically than any human could to shoot behind his back, over his shoulders, and even under his leg.

“And the third and arguably the most important is: we Fae are far, farmore mobile and agile than any of you are right now, or will be in the immediate future, so do consider anyway your enemies can outmaneuver and flank you,” Ren said as he holstered one gun, replaced the empty clip with a drum magazine.

He moved towards one of the “bases” in the arena, a tight cluster of trees with platforms rising up two stories above him, a small sniper’s nest on the third. Several dummies stood behind cover, well-protected from any shots angled upwards, free to pump Ren full of bullets if they were actually armed and alive.

Then Ren started jumping from branch to branch, running up and along the trunk and the walls, swinging from the ropes or running on top of the ziplines, raining metal hell down on all of them from above and behind.

Ren zipped down from the base, gracefully landing back down to the ground. He unloaded the empty drum, turned over to Pyrrha and Weiss said, “Generally speaking, never forget to look up.Now, any questions or concerns?”

“None,” Pyrrha said, smiling as she put on her helmet. “Let’s get shooting.”

“Oh yeah!” Nora cried as she shot out of her seat. “We about to get all John Woo up in here!”

Note: Aside from the tendency for special ammo and the like to deteriorate over time, to the point of being unusable or dangerous to use, it’s also expensive to produce, and capable of causing severe injuries to folks and damage to property that oftentimes require urgent, specialized treatment, thus the many hurdles to legally acquiring and using them. Due to the nature of the Keeper and her team, restrictions are a bit looser and relatively easier, but not by much.

The shardslinger is the non-elemental version of the farslinger. Though they use many similar designs, the key difference is in the loading mechanism and the insides of the barrels, with the latter being specially treated and much, much, MUCH more expensive, to be able to handle the severe wear of high-power elemental mediums. It’s not unknown for substandard barrels to simply explode or melt during stress testing.

This chapter was coded “Shooty Shooty Bang Bang.” The next chapter is coded “John Woo-ing It Up In Here.”

Summary:It was a weekly ritual of theirs, show up at the end of each Monday, complain about their existences, before sympathizing, then planning out how they were going to survive what next week would bring.

In short: it was a support group—as much as manga characters could be said to have one, at any rate.

They never thought it would ever do much harm, until it threatened to erase them from existence

Weiss was the last one to arrive, quietly walking in a whole ten minutes after everyone else had already settled into their seats. She wasn’t drawn in her school uniform, or any of her “casual” outfits, instead wearing a buttoned up white-shirt and a sarong around her waist, her hair slightly damp and her iconic ponytail tied up into a tight bun.

Diana sniffed the air and flicked her serpentine tongue out for good measure, smelled and tasted salt water, burnt charcoal, and coconuts. “Beach special?” she asked.

“Yes.” Weiss replied as she headed to the middle of their three-person couch, her usual spot. Ruby and Akko scooted over or pulled up their legs to make room, she thanked them before she sat down with her knees tightly pressed together, her hands clasped in her lap, her posture absolutely perfect and straight.

Akko and Ruby noticed and frowned, but said nothing.

Diana rose up from her beanbag, her snake-half uncoiling a bit beneath her. “Is everyone ready to start the meeting?” she asked.

“Yes,” everyone replied, with varying levels of enthusiasm.

“Then would anyone like to begin our session?” Diana asked, glancing at the others. “Weiss, perhaps?”

“No, no,” she said, shaking her head, slowing down as she noticed drops of sea water dripping down her hair. “You girls go first.”

“Are you certain?” Diana asked.

“Yes.” Weiss replied, carefully catching the water in her hands, before wiping them off on her sarong.

“Then would anyone else like to go first, or shall we just follow our established order?” Diana asked.

“I’m cool with that the usual,” Ruby said, then Akko said, “Yeah, that sounds fine.”

Diana nodded. “Then Ruby, please start us off,” she said, gesturing to her.

Ruby nodded back, then said, “I thought we were going to have a quiet rearlines chapter this week, or maybe some more political intrigue over at Command, but it turns out that Anoke wanted to introduce a new type of Umbra to the story. They’re called Stalkers, and their shtick is that they’re infiltration and ambush experts; apparently she thought the best way to illustrate that was to have one of them break into HQ—specifically, the R&D labs.”

Realization hit the others quickly, Akko winced. “Wow, that must have reallysucked.”

“Itreallydid,” Ruby said, frowning. “Anokewent full on horror mode with the scene, too.”

“What happened?” Weiss asked.

“Oh, the usual setup: I was working late at night, heard weird bumps in the vents and the corners, went to investigate it for a couple of panels before the Big Scary Thing came out at me in a full-page spread, and I spent the rest of the chapter running and fighting it off.” Ruby explained. She sighed. “Honestly, I’m sogladAnokewrote me as a weaponsengineer, and I had usable prototypes everywhere and ammo everywhere, but still, she made that thing way too reckless and durable for something that supposedly HAD to use stealth, or be killed almost immediately!

“It chased me through the entirety of the lab, managed to pin me down after I tripped on all the spent shells; it was even about to eat me, before someonefrom security finally thought to investigate why the cameras and audio feeds went down all of a sudden, and why they could stillhear the gunshots and the screaming from all the way up there!

“They killed it right on time to save me, but not nearly soon enough, if you ask me…” Ruby grumbled, before she heaved a heavy sigh. “Alright, rant’s over. Akko?”

“We had another big Teatrowith a rival troupe,” Akko started. “Same plot as always: brand new characters, this time from within Luna Nova—I think they were one of the more detailed background characters in an audience shot two chapters ago, you know Director-sama likes to do that. Anyway, we challenged them, they talked about how bad we’re going to lose because we suck so much, but alsogo through so much effort to cheat to ensure their win, then we somehow beat them anyway, and this time they chose to flip the table than eat their humble pie, and Finnelan expelled them.

“But this week it was just so–” she raised her trembling hands in front of her “–so stupid! I mean, I get it: there’s only so many serious, dark, realistic motivations you can give rivals before you have to start making most of them orphans from Teatri Finali, but this one was just, ‘Gasp! Somebody said something vaguely insulting about me and it wasn’t even directly to my face, so I blow up at them in public! I mean, we could talk things through like normalpeople and ask what they meant, but heck, let’s just skip all that and go straight to trying to mock-murder each other on stage so we can decide who’s telling the ‘truth!’

“I mean—COME ON!” Akko cried, throwing her hands up. “We’re supposed to be training to be the professionals that literallydecide how wars are won, and here we are getting this angry over a simple misunderstanding?! Director-sama is setting a reallybad example to our audience! I mean, real life actresses aren’t this petty and prone to overreacting, are they?

“I mean, are they…?” she asked, her voice cracking.

“I really don’t know, Akko,” Weiss said. “The Show Time arc had all of protagonists us as the actors, no industry professionals to speak of except for production and agents. Even then, I doubt it would have been a realistic portrayal, considering, you know.”

“The recording of our drama CD also went incredibly smoothly,” Diana added. “Whether that was an exception or not, I can’t tell as we only ever did produce the one so far, not to mention the third party involved for most of it.”

“Maybe if one of us gets an anime adaptation one of these days, we might be able to find out during the director’s commentary!” Ruby said.

Akko sighed, her shoulders slumping. “Maybe… okay, I’m done. Diana?”

“It’s a very similar problem as yours, actually,” Diana hummed. “I swear, no matter how much I despise the role I was written for, I would be so pleased if the Mistress M would extend any of that seemingly infinite creativity of hers into the ways she reminds the audience I’m the ‘Token Evil Teammate’ of the group,” she said, making air quotes.

“She’s already bluntly stated there’s limitless possibility in such a lawless, wild, and fantastic land as the Horizon!

“But no, it’s always: ‘Oh, guess who subtly poisoned or otherwise killed the morally ambiguous ally side character who was just shy of proudly advertising that they were going to betray us?’ or ‘Oh, guess who refuses to help the latest band of stranded refugees, or the poor, penniless villagers out in the middle of nowhere?’ or ‘Oh, guess who immediately suggests murder as the ultimate solution, since it’s what we end up doing nine times out of ten, anyhow?’

“And the answer is always, ‘Diana.’”

“It used to be shocking, fascinating, even, in the early stages of the series, but now it’s all just so boring and trite. If an omakeis to be believed, it seems there’s a ‘meme’ about it involving law enforcement just pinning the blame on me immediately, and no judge willing to contest the charges—and if she went out of her way to acknowledge it in publication like that, you can be certain she found it entertaining.

She sighed again. “I will likely never get a redemption arc, but I would at least prefer it if my role was to be come much less routine and utterly predictable. And with that, I am satisfied. Weiss?”

Weiss looked sheepishly at her lap, and started twiddling her fingers. “So, you all know what a beach special means in my genre, right…?”

“Sandcastle building? Beach volleyball? Barbecue at the boardwalk?” Ruby offered.

“Ooh, ooh: watermelon smashing! Swimming!Songs and stories around a bonfire at night where you stay up super late and sleep on the beach!” Akko cried.

“Skimpy, highly inappropriate outfits for characters explicitly of high school age; copious amounts of even more inappropriate behaviour such as willing or unwilling indecent exposure; outright sexual assault treated with the least amount of seriousness possible…?” Diana said.

“Correct, correct, and correct,” Weiss said, nodding at each of them in turn. “Look… I could handleJaune accidentally barging into the ladies dressing room as usual, among otherstupid antics of his. I could handlethe frankly insaneamounts of outdoors, mid-day activities Hentai-sama thought someone of my complexion and constitution could happilyoblige to for 12 or so hours, especiallywith most of our drinking water ending up spilled in the service of an ecchiscene. I could handlefaking being attracted to Jaune in swimming trunks, internally ‘gush’ about how ‘nice’ he looks with his hair wet, ‘admire’ his muscles shining with sweat, and just generally find single thing he does charming, no matter how asinine and/or immature.”

She clenched her fists tightly. “But I could not… I can’t… I’m…” she sniffed, tears welling in her eyes.

Ruby and Akko both reached out and patted her on the shoulder and back as Weiss began to sob, trembling with each violent, pained heave.

“I’mgay…”Weiss whispered, broken. “I’m so, so, so fucking gay, and I don’t know how much longer I can pretendto be even remotelyattracted to that stupid, bumbling, personality-devoid blonde blank-slate when I have not one, but twopretty girls in my vicinity at all times, plus Ms. Goodwitch and all the side-girls of the week!”

She sucked in a breath, looked up at Diana with red-streaked, teary eyes, her cheeks wet and glistening. “Did you know, I had to put sunscreen on Pyrrha’s back…? Do you know, how much detailHentai-samadrew her with? And do you know, how much willpower it took, for me to convincinglylook like I was pretending it was actually me in Velvet’s place, make it seem like I wanted to be with Jaune, keep from losing myself in the objectively superior choice, who was literallyright in the palms of my hands…?”

Weiss broke into another round of tears, Akko hugged her and cradled her face to her chest, while Ruby continued rubbing her back. Diana maneuvered her snake-half to their mini-fridge in the corner, pulled out a bottle of water, then flung it to Ruby’s waiting hand.

“I’m sorry…” Weiss whimpered some time later, her voice hoarse, her eyes stinging from the tears still flowing, her water spilling as her hand couldn’t stop trembling. “I’m so, sosorry,this is all I have, compared to all of your problems…”

“It wasn’t your fault you were created for a harem comedy, Weiss,” Diana said, giving Weiss a warm, sympathetic look—or as much as a half-snake demon could, at least.

Weiss continued to cry until she ran out of tears and drained most of her water, now clutching it so tightly in her hand the plastic was crumpling around her fingers. “I hate this…” she muttered.

“We do too…” Ruby said.

“I don’t know how I’m going to last much longer…” Weiss whispered. “It was only because I had the dubious honour of being Jaune’s roommate when it came time to assign the inevitably-fewer-cabins-than-we-thought that I lasted till morning… I wouldn’t have lasted five minutes if I was in that same, tiny, cramped room with Pyrrha, Velvet, and Ms. Goodwitch, in their nightwear… if they even wore any clothes to sleep!”she whimpered.

“Thankfuck it was just a one-chapter deal, I couldn’t have survived another in-story dayin that sunny, sandy hell… and now, I guess it’s time for all of us to figure how we’re going to survive next week.”

“Indeed,” Diana said as she pulled off the curtain for their whiteboard.

Akko killed the lights, Ruby found the remote for it and tossed it to Diana, Weiss tossed her crushed water bottle into the trash before they all prepared for this week’s news update.

“As you are all aware, Papuru Fiction is reaching its first anniversary in six weeks,” Diana started, pulling out and extending her pointer. “Without a doubt, it will be a grand, elaborate affair, what with our relatively recent explosion in audience numbers, and of course, our new additions to the roster since the magazine’s creation,” she said, looking at Ruby and Akko both.

“Without a doubt, our respective mangakaswill be pulling out all the stops in the near future, so expect dramatic developments in the plot and world-changing arcs, explosive and catastrophic finales, and even new main characters being introduced to our respective casts, Weiss’ series especially.

“Then there is the separate matter of what Mrs. Publisher and the Editors will think they will have to do alongside that; we will likely be working overtime with special editions, extra lengthy chapters, and of course, promotional material and new merchandise.”

Akko groaned. “I smell being framed and almost expelled again…!”

“I sense hundreds of thousands of extras dying, and a city being wiped off the map,” Ruby continued.

“And I’m certaintheecchiis going to hit critical mass…” Weiss muttered, looking down at herself.

“Indeed,” Diana said, nodding gravely as she turned off the projector, exchanged the remote for a whiteboard marker. “Now, shall we get to predictions and planning, ladies?”

With no objections, they got right to it; they ultimately managed to predict quite a lot of things, except for the “almost being erased from existence” part.

Note:I don’t hate Jaune. I don’t have anything against anyone turning him into the aforementioned wish-fulfillment harem protagonist. I hate that, independent of him being Jaune, they’re EVERYWHERE.

Pyrrha’s next choice ended being a set of Dunestriders. They were a specially modified design for human hands and feet, fully enclosed without the straps and open toes and fingers they usually had, though the boots still had a reverse-joint form, achieved by having Pyrrha’s actual feet much higher than they appeared to be. It had the effect of making her even taller than she already was, which Jaune immediately noticed as she strode into the arena.

Pyrrha looked at him, visually compared the lengths of her armoured dunestriders and the companion gloves against Jaune’s arm plus sword, and frowned. “These are probably going to put you at a severe disadvantage again…”

“Yeah, it probably will…” Jaune muttered.

“Are you going to stick with your sword and shield again?”

“No, I’ve learned my lesson,” Jaune said, stepping out of the ring, heading to the weapons rack, and returning with a poleaxe.

“A suitable weapon for the conditions of the fight, Jaune,” Pyrrha said, nodding in approval.

“Thanks,” Jaune said, before held the poleaxe out, its spike just a good lunge away from meeting Pyrrha.

She went into her own fighting stance, crouching low on the ground like a sprinter, the dunestriders’ mechanisms whirring and preparing for action.

Taiyang looked at them both and smiled, before he blew the horn.

Jaune attacked first, thrusting his poleaxe at Pyrrha!

Whoosh!

Pyrrha launched herself to the side, and the spike met the cloud of dust left she left in her wake.

Jaune pulled it back and swung at Pyrrha, she leaped over the blade and shaft, landing on her hands before she put her feet back on the ground and started to circle around Jaune. He noticed and rushed to the center, swinging wide for her chest!

Pyrrha dropped to her knees!

Clang!

The top of her helmet banged against the axe-head as she slid across the ground, kicked up a huge cloud of dust in her wake. Jaune pulled his poleaxe back and tried to stab at her, she scrabbled backwards, kicking up even more dirt and hiding her from view.

Jaune quickly pulled his weapon back, squinting as he tried to any sign of Pyrrha…

Whoosh!

The cloud blew apart as Pyrrha launched herself at Jaune!

He braced his feet, and cried out as he stabbed at her…!

… He missed, Pyrrha landed behind him on her hands and a foot, cocking her other leg and looking over shoulder, before she drove her heel into the back of Jaune’s knee.

“AGH!” he cried out as he stumbled, rammed his poleaxe in the dirt to keep from falling.

Pyrrha launched herself back up on her feet, dashed towards Jaune, and kicked his legs out from under him. He collapsed on his back, his poleaxe held across his chest; he tried to raise it up until Pyrrha brought one foot down on the shaft, pinning it to his body.

He could only watch as she prepared to drive her other foot onto his neck.

“Youreallyhave a thing for going for the neck, don’t you…?” Jaune wheezed as he was back on the bench once more, his helmet off and rubbing at the fresh medical patch slapped on top of his neck.

“Well, it isone of the most vulnerable parts of the human body, and evidently the Fae folk’s also,” Pyrrha replied as she sat next to him, her helmet also off. “Should I stop? I mean, there are other parts I could target!”

“What were they again?” Jaune asked. “It’s been a long while since I went through them in Basic.”

Pyrrha put on a thoughtful expression, and muttered, “Hmm… well, our helmets and visors make the ears, eyes, nose, and such well-protected and impractical to strike; our chest armour will easily withstand a blow to the solar plexus, the ribs, and even down to the crotch; and our boots and leg-armour are incredibly sturdy and help protect against knee breakage… so there’s always going for the arms for a disable…?

“Oh, but that’s where your weapons are, especially your shield, so… on second thought, I guess there really isn’t any other weak points I can exploit exceptfor your neck…” she mumbled, sheepishly looking down. “This is embarrassing, I apologize.”

“It’s cool,” Jaune said, waving her off. “I mean, when you think about it, this can be good practice, you know! For everything out there, outside the Bastion, ‘cause I’ll be Weiss’, ah, ‘personal server,’” he said, gesturing vaguely at the stretch of uninhabited swamp some distance away. “Those animals are probably alsogoing to be coming straight for my neck, up close and personal, so better be prepared for it, right?”

“Right, but I think most people would prefer training with Fae firearms and other ranged weapons, than attempting to master close range-combat,” Pyrrha said, looking back at him. “Reach and range can mean everything in an encounter, especially when one party is robbed of it. Speaking of which: why areyou training with your sword and shield? Has it been strengthened with echoes over the years, too?”

Jaune frowned, looked away, and muttered, “It’s stupid…”

Pyrrha put her hand on Jaune’s shoulder and smiled at him. “I won’t judge.”

Jaune looked at her, hesitated a moment, before he looked away and said, “There’s this… legend in my family about these weapons…”

Pyrrha took her hand back, placing them in her lap, before she nodded at Jaune. “Go on…”

Jaune looked at her from the corners of his eyes, before turning to his weapons on his lap. “It says that this sword and shield? They’re completely, absolutely unbreakable, made out of some special super-metal, by some special smith, in the woods, in the mountains, deep in cave in a lake—the details are really fuzzy and change a lot, but the point of it is, you can’t wreck them—ever.

“The blade gets dull, the shield gets dented, and they aren’t immune to getting bent out of shape, but they’ll never break, and whatever happens to it, it can get fixed.

“And my ancestors said that it ‘blessed’ whoever wielded them, making them just as unbreakable, too. If you can believe the stories, this shield saved Arcs from a barrage of gunpowder cannons, a historic storm, and even helped slay a legendary demon, wayback when. The only their wielders could ever die was when they intentionally left them behind, or when it was finally their time to go, anyway.

“I’m pretty sure a lot of it is bullshit bedtime stories to make them seem special, make my family seem special, but since they really arepretty much indestructible, maybe, maybe there’s some truth to their ‘blessing!’ And if it is true, then I can…” he suddenly stopped.

Pyrrha waited a few moments, before she asked, “And then you can…?”

Jaune shook his head again. “Nevermind, it’s even dumber than the legend,” he said as he put his helmet back on, grabbed his weapons as he stood up. “My neck’s feeling better now, I’m ready to see you in the ring again when you’re ready.”

Pyrrha looked unconvinced, but she nodded and did the same, heading to the weapon rack to pick out her next choice.

It ultimately turned out to be a series of Stormwheels. Her first choice was a lightweight, one-hander designed for close range combat, a “Clutcher” Stormwheel. The wheel was six inches in diameter including the three curved hooks, had a lever mechanism that’d extend it away from her when activated, and a miniature, fire-powered motor that wrapped around her forearm.

“Are you sure you want to use that?” Jaune asked as they were back in the ring.

“I’m sure.” Pyrrha replied. “From what Ren has told me, it’s a veryeffective weapon when it comes to disarming and disabling melee attackers.”

“Okay…” Jaune said, nodding slowly.

“Do you have any issues with it, Jaune?” Pyrrha asked.

“Well, it’s just that… it looks like a giant fidget spinner!” Jaune cried. “One you wear on your arm instead of hold in your hands!”

“I’ll admit it looks a bit silly, but I’m willing to give it a shot!” Pyrrha replied, holding up the clutcher. “Who knows? It might make it among those in the final running.”

Jaune shrugged. “If you want to use it, I guess…” he muttered as he readied his weapons.

Pyrrha smiled. “Thank you, Jaune,” she said as she did the same.

Taiyang blew the horn, Jaune rushed at Pyrrha and slashed!

She raised her clutcher, squeezing hard on the trigger, the wheel roaring into action!

Reeeee—CLANG!

Jaune’s sword immediately got caught in the now spinning hooks; caught by surprise, he felt his wrist painfullytwisted.“AGH!”

He immediately lost his grip on his sword, the clutcher sent it flying off into the audience!

“HOLY SHIT!” Yang cried as she, Nora, and Ren ducked for cover.

Taiyang swiftly caught it out of the air. “Got it!” he said, triumphantly holding it up by its blade.

“Maybe I shouldn’t use these…” Pyrrha said as she quickly pressed the emergency stop button, the clutcher screeched to a halt.

“Agreed…” Jaune mumbled, trembling as he cradled his wrist.

After a quick medical check to ensure that the bones there were still whole, the blood cells unruptured, and the nerves healed, Pyrrha decided to move onto another variation, a “Whirler” Stormwheel, or as it was more affectionately known, a “Whirly-wheel.” This one was smaller, about two or so inches in diameter, made of a coil of steel-silk sandwiched between two sharpened discs, the water medium inserted via magically infused beads.

“So now you’re fighting with a yo-yo…?” Jaune observed as he observed Pyrrha practicing with it, playing with it as you would the actual toy.

“It could be fun!” Pyrrha replied, trying to do a trick with them, giggling as it ended up going out of control and smacking her lightly on the chest.

Jaune shrugged, and prepared himself for combat once more.

Taiyang blew the horn, Jaune charged first, aiming for a thrust this time!

Pyrrha activated the water medium inside her stormwheel, the beads glowing bright as she threw it at Jaune’s head!

Clang!

The blow jerked Jaune’s head backwards, he staggered and stumbled as he instinctively raised his shield up to his face.

Pyrrha pulled her whirler back, spun it around to build momentum, before she launched it at him again!

At the same time, Jaune regained his balance lowered his shield enough to see—specifically, the whirly-wheel flying straight for his face again.

Thunk.

It landed on his shield and ricocheted off, but the force and the angle of the strike sent it and his hand smacking straight into his head.

Jaune fell onto his back, his limbs splayed out around him.

Pyrrha pulled her whirler back; it missed her hand and struck her in the head, leaving a shallow dent in her helmet. “Are you alright, Jaune?” she asked as her whirler fell and tumbled in the dirt.

Jaune slowly raised his shield hand and turned it outwards, making a thumbs-up, before it dropped back to the ground.

As Ren wanted to test him for potentially serious head-trauma, it gave Pyrrha time to choose and train with one of the much more exotic and flashier variants: “Screamer” Stormwheels. It was a four-piece set that could be used like wheels, circular saws, or small shields, mounted on the sides of special boots and gloves, loaded with earth medium upon Nora’s recommendation.

Like the dunestriders before it, the reverse-joint design of the boots and the screamers themselves gave Pyrrha quite the height boost, and with the incredible speed she could achieve from a standstill thanks to the motors, Jaune was given another polearm.

This time, he chose a grasping vine staff.

Pyrrha skated into the arena, playfully circling around Jaune, before she moved to her starting place. Jaune nodded at her, before he pulled out his staff, and held it at the ready.

Taiyang blew the horn, and Pyrrha was off, dashing around the arena, ripping up huge gouges in the ground as she kicked up huge clouds of dust!

Jaune rushed to the center again, standing strong and steady as he watched the dust flying up around him, looked out for the glint of metal through the clouds.

Pyrrha dashed in to strike!

Jaune smacked one arm away with his staff, blocked the slash from the other. Pyrrha tried to dash back into the clouds, Jaune swept his staff at her legs, managed to grab onto an ankle, and pulled!

“Gah!” Pyrrha cried as she was jerked backward, falling on her stomach.

Jaune started to pull her closer to him, she slammed her screamers into the dirt, gouging the ground and slowing him down, but not enough to try and get back up. It almost seemed like Jaune finally had the upper-hand, when she accidentally activated the motors in her hands, and the sudden motion jerked Jaune to the side.

Realization struck the both of them. Pyrrha smiled as she arranged her three free screamers parallel to each other, Jaune paled as he tightened his grip as he heard all three motors screeching back to life.

Whirrrr…!

Round and round Pyrrha went, gradually going faster and faster and father and farther away from Jaune. He struggled to keep the fast-slipping staff in his hands, turn around without tripping himself on his own feet, or just getting yanked to the ground, small mounds of dirt building up around him as he literally dug his heels in!

Ultimately, Pyrrha won, Jaune getting yanked face-first to the ground as his staff flew out of his hands.

Pyrrha made a long, hard turn and came to a stop, the staff smacking her in the side before she picked it up, and freed her ankle from it. Meanwhile, Jaune pushed himself up by his hands, just in time to see Pyrrha heading straight for him at full speed.

Later on the benches, Pyrrha had her helmet off and her head inside a barf bucket, while Jaune had the chaotic road map of gouges on his armour filled in. When the both of them were good for combat once more, Pyrrha choose something faraway from the stormwheels:

Gaoler’s Grasps.

They covered all of her hands and almost all of her forearms, their “jaws” extending past her knuckles when activated, the armor plates clinking ominously with each step she took. Pyrrha punched them together twice, the sound rang out in the arena, then echoed faintly from the trees a few moments later.

“… Not a very subtle weapon this time, huh…?” Jaune asked.

“Precisely,” Pyrrha replied, before she raised her fists.

Taiyang blew the horn, Pyrrha charged in with a haymaker!

Clang!

Jaune blocked it with his shield, she slipped in a weaker punch to the gut, sending him staggering back. Jaune retaliated with a slash!

Ka-chunk!

Pyrrha snapped the jaws of one glove around his sword, and stopped his arm. The two began to wrestle for his sword and exchange blows, Jaune smashing his shield into Pyrrha, Pyrrha punching with her free hand, the clangs of metal on metal ringing out in the arena.

Thunk!

Pyrrha managed a blow to Jaune’s head, stunning him.

Ka-chunk!

She let go of his sword, latched onto his shield then pulled it out of the way. Jaune tried to bash her in with the pommel of his sword, but it was too late.

Thunk!

Jab to the stomach, most of the wind rushed out of Jaune’s lungs.

Thunk!

Uppercut to the chin, he went stumbling back, fell onto his back as Pyrrha let go of his shield. She didn’t hesitate to straddle his chest, raise both of her hands up high in the air for an overhead smash. Jaune closed his eyes.

THUD.

“Who are you?” Ren asked as he sat on the benches with Jaune.

“Jaune Arc.” Jaune mumbled.

“Where are you?”

“The training grounds…”

“Which is in?”

“Keeper’s Cove—I mean Grove.”

“Which in turn is in?”

“The Viridian Valley.”

“How many claws am I holding up?”

“Three.”

Ren and Jaune continued with the head trauma tests, while Pyrrha stood some distance away, watching uneasily. “Maybe I shouldn’t have gone so hard that time…”

“He’ll be fine!” Nora replied. “He’s actually been doing pretty great, by human or Fae standards!”

“Really?” Pyrrha asked, surprised. “How so?”

“He’s still alive and in one piece!” Nora replied. “Most greenhorns I know couldn’t have even lasted under a quarterof the abuse Jaune’s already taken, let alone keep coming back for more! If nothing else, he’ll probably make a great meatshield.”

“… That doesn’t sound like much of a positive.”

“It is once you’re outside the walls!” Nora hummed. “Trust me, sometimes the best watcher you need in your hunting party is someone who can survive being mauled and/or chewed up for a minute or five to give everyone else room to breath.”

“Uh… huh…” Pyrrha mumbled.

Ren ultimately declared Jaune “mostly fine,” and Jaune himself was still willing to resume the duels.

“Are you reallysure about that, Jaune?” Pyrrha asked. “I’m starting to feel that pain patches and black moss won’t be of much use rather soon.”

“I’m sure!” Jaune replied, nodding. “Maybe just for one more match, but that’s still going full-out!”

“And what do you know, I’ve got the perfect weapon idea for it, too!” Yang added, smiling.

Pyrrha looked at them both dubiously, before she sighed, and said, “Alright. One more match, but onlyone.”

She ended up donning a full Warcharger set, like the one Keren used. Though the horns mounted on her helmet and the extra armour on her chest and shoulders looked intimidating, Jaune’s real concern were the bulky boots she wore, and the force-amplifying mechanisms hidden inside it.

“Still sure you want to go through with this, Jaune?” Pyrrha asked as she crouched low to the ground, pointed her horns at him.

“I’m sure!” Jaune said, readying his weapons.

“So I take it you’re both ready?” Taiyang asked.

“Aye!” they replied.

“Then for one last time… FIGHT!” Taiyang yelled, before he blow the horn.

Pyrrha charged at Jaune, boots leaving craters in her wake, closing the distance in seconds!

Jaune’s eyes widened as he braced for impact.

Crash!

He slid backwards a few feet, his heels burying themselves into the ground before he grabbed hold of Pyrrha, smashed at her with the pommel of his sword. The blows barely seemed to have any effect on her drastically thickened armour, Jaune was slowly pushed back further and further, until he was finally lifted up into the air.

With a resounding cry, Pyrrha threw him!

Her eyes widened as she realized he was flying muchfarther and faster than she intended, straight into the empty benches and a lamppost opposite Taiyang and the others.

The furniture and the lamppost were fine.

Jaune was not.

Note:Fae dislike human-style, fully enclosed footwear for two reasons: one, their naturally, incredibly durable and highly adaptable hides made it unnecessary (many can step on a nail or broken glass without issue and only very superficial injury, if they even notice); and two, the sheer variety of feet, hooves, talons, claws, flippers, fins, and so on and so forth made it extremely difficult to design for them without having to resort to very expensive, oftentimes convoluted designs that was made to comfortably fit the individual folk it was made for, and no one else.

Even hand-me downs from parent to child weren’t a guarantee as they could be of entirely different species thanks to the increasing volatility of Fae genetics after the Second Great War, and even slightly larger claws on their toes could make it painful to wear a shoe at all. Thus, most designs were very minimalist or highly adaptable, with a large amount of bands of hard material, secured with fibers, coupled with flexible and malleable materials for comfort.

Clutcher Stormwheels have a close cousin called “Flailer” Stormwheels, whereby projectiles are either slung using centrifugal force, or used to amplify the force of whatever objects are attached to the cables; they are usually blunt and heavy, but not always.

Whirlers are incredibly infamous weapons of choice, especially for young, inexperienced users, as they are ASTOUNDINGLY good at causing collateral damage from even the most basic of techniques.

Screamers are so named for the sound their users make as they rush past you, more specifically from the air they displace.

Stormwheels also come in:

“Flurry” which are small, disposable sets for throwing;

“Wheeler” which are disposable sets meant to roll across the ground, or be a much heavier-duty thrown weapon;

“Dancer” which curve back to the owner, and are frequently used in performances;

“Minder” whose trajectory can be easily controlled mid-flight, generally with weaver magic;

“Slasher” which are meant for close combat unaided by motors;

“Crusher” which are very large, meant to be carried over the shoulder or around the arm, and are made to shatter bone than cut;

“Moon” similarly sized versions which can split apart into two crescent shaped-blades, and be folded for easier transport or agility;

“Eye” which are even LARGER variations meant for the user to ride in;

and many other styles and modifications.

Gaoler’s Grasps were rarely used in prisons. As you might expect, if you’re handling violent convicts, most watchers prefer to stick with ranged weapons or ones that otherwise kept them a fair distance away from you. Their infamy mostly comes from the few times they WERE brought out, and to devastating effect.

Warchargers are named after the special division of Fae soldiers that used them during the Second Great War. They were the vanguard for almost every major offensive, and were infamous for being EXTREMELY difficult to bring down while they brought down and crushed your walls, defenses, and defenders. There are few more iconic images of the Second Great War than a wave of heavily armoured Fae sweeping down from the horizon, charging through and trampling everything underfoot, barely slowing down or stopping for ANYTHING.

Note:I know I used “many” thrice last chapter, but it turns out it’s hard to make a number of unique, distinct weapons for Fascist Magical Space Hippies; think of ways to artfully demonstrate their effectiveness in one-to-one matches with a semi-experienced, talented human user whose opponent is essentially a human target dummy; while also trying to keep within self-imposed chapter lengths to avoid author burn-outs.

So, hope you don’t mind this chapter’s selection for the melee weapons, which hopefully gives the general idea of how the Fae have modified or made similar designs to humans, or works completely their own. The next chapter will either be a continuation of melee weapons, or move onto ranged weapons, depending on how many of these crazy ideas for weapons/ways for Jaune to get his ass kicked that you folks want to see.

“Are you sure you want to continue with this plan, Jaune?” Pyrrha asked, her voice modulated by the comm-unit inside her visor. “Even for training weapons, these seem awfully dangerous still, and that isn’t even going into the mediums I’m using!”

“I’m sure!” Jaune replied, making a thumbs up with his gloved hand, the surface still scarred from all his elemental mishaps earlier. “We’ll never get anywhere if neither of us ever get serious!”

(“That’s the spirit, Jaune!” Yang cried from the benches on the side.)

Pyrrha sighed. “Alright, if you’re sure…” she muttered.

From his position on the side of the dirt circle the two were in, Taiyang raised the dueling horn to his lips. “Fighters ready?” he asked.

“Aye!” Jaune and Pyrrha both cried, readying their weapons.

“Then fight!” Taiyang cried, before he blew the horn, starting a long series of one-on-one duels between Jaune and Pyrrha.

The first set of matches were with Fae equivalents of traditional human weapons, but with the advantage of the former’s engineering, materials, and of course, elemental mediums.

Pyrrha’s first chose was a Khopesh and shield, the blade infused with elemental earth. The two of them exchanged simple slashes and thrusts for a few moments, Pyrrha gracefully dodging and deflecting Jaune’s inelegant attacks, Jaune blocking with his sizable shield, or enduring her direct attacks.

It all seemed like a standard sword duel, until Pyrrha activated her weapon’s element, and caught Jaune’s sword in the hook of her blade.

Clang!

Jaune’s sword stuck to Pyrrha’s Khopesh, now magnetized. Pyrrha yanked backwards, Jaune staggered forward and tightened his grip, the two of them started wrestling and kicking up dirt, until with a swift bash of Pyrrha’s shield to the side of Jaune’s head, his sword flew out of his hand.

Pyrrha pulled back, deactivated the medium and dropped Jaune’s sword, before she spun back around and aimed a chop right at Jaune’s neck!

Thwack!

It stopped dead on the armor there, a great deal of sturdy material before even getting close to nicking his skin, but that didn’t stop him from making an incrediblyundignified noise.

Taiyang blew the horn, Pyrrha carefully removed her sword; Jaune gasped, instinctively grasping at his neck and stepping back.

“Are you alright, Jaune?” Pyrrha asked as she sheathed her sword.

“… Yeah…” Jaune replied, calming down now. “Just… surprised. Straight for the killing blow, huh?” he asked, rubbing at the fresh nick with one hand.

“This is ‘full out’ sparring,’ after all,” Pyrrha replied. Her voice softened as she asked, “Would you still like to continue? I’m afraid I can’t pull back, as the other fighters at the Pits certainly won’t.”

“Yeah, I’m still game!” Jaune said, nodding as he put his hand away.

“Are you sure?” Pyrrha asked.

“I’m sure,” Jaune said. “That is why we’re wearing like an inch’s worth of armour all over, right?” he said, spreading out his arms.

“Right.” Pyrrha replied, before she stepped out of the circle and back to the collection of weapons on the side.

For the next round, she decided on a spear loaded with elemental water. For the sake of fairness, Jaune was given his own without the medium, though while Pyrrha could hold it straight and confidently, he could barely keep it steady.

“Will you be alright fighting with this, Jaune?” Pyrrha asked as they reentered the arena.

“I’m good!” Jaune said. “I’m trying to learn by experience, aren’t I?”

Pyrrha slowed down and looked at him for a few moments, before she nodded and continued on to her starting place.

Taiyang blew the horn, Pyrrha attacked immediately, aiming thrusts at Jaune’s chest, blocking his own jabs with her shield, or smacking his spear away with her own. It wasn’t long before Jaune lost his grip on his weapon, and was reduced to holding his shield up in front of him with both hands, trying to remain standing as Pyrrha stabbed him in the legs.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

It seemed like the match had reached a stalemate as Jaune blocked or powered through most of Pyrrha’s thrusts, until she activated the water medium in her weapon.

Thrust.

Jaune cried out and stumbled as he was stabbed in the ankle.

Thrust.

His shield rang as it blocked a blow meant for his chest, the force sending him staggering back till he was almost out of bounds; Jaune desperately flailed his arms, trying to keep from falling back.

Poke.

Pyrrha gently hit him in the thickest part of his breastplate, sending him falling flat on his ass, and out of the ring.

Taiyang blew the horn, Yang came up to Pyrrha as she put the spears away. “Word of advice: don’t do mercy if this were an actual match,” she said. “Folks love their epic, brutal finishers, and if you’ve got someone on the ropes like that for most of a fight, make sure everyoneknows how bad of an idea it was to mess with you.

“Caring for your opponents is before, after, and outside of a match, not during it.”

“Noted,” Pyrrha said, before she looked at the vast array of weapons laid out before her.

The hours went by, and nearing the end of that set, Pyrrha started going for more exotic, “crowd-pleaser” weapons, like nunchuks infused with elemental air. Even just loading it with a fresh vial had the whole weapon sparking and glowing ominously.

“Are you sure you’re not gonna hurt yourself with those things?” Jaune asked as he watched Pyrrha carefully practicing with simple, practical swings.

“Not entirely, but our armour hasproven itself quite durable, so I wouldn’t worry too much!”

“Alright, just be careful!” Jaune replied. “I don’t want you to accidentally shock and knock yourself out.”

“The concern is much appreciated, Jaune,” Pyrrha replied, before she got into a combat stance, one rod held firmly in her hand.

Taiyang blew the horn, and almost immediately, a miniature, violent thunderstorm erupted inside the ring.

Jaune couldn’t even prepare a single attack before Pyrrha rushed in, electricity arcing through the air as she swung her nunchuks, the rods landing on his armour and shield with explosive, thunderous force. The strikes were so many and so fast that everyone on the sidelines could barely watch the fight for all the sparks and electric discharges flying out.

With a sharp, piercing cry, Pyrrha pulled her nunchuks back and kicked Jaune in the chest!

Jaune went flying and crashed into the dirt, a smoking, twitching, slightly blackened heap; Pyrrha staggered and almost lost her balance as some of the leftover charge coursed into one of her legs.

“Oh, Great-Grandma, is he going to be okay?” Pyrrha asked as she rubbed her ankle, watched as Nora and Ren jogged forward with the first aid kit.

“Yes, actually!” Ren replied as opened it and put on a pair of non-conductive mender’s gloves. “We Fae have treatments for all sorts of things.”

“Yep!” Nora replied as she did the same, before she started pulling out equipment. “Cuts, bruises, all kinds of poisons, burns of all three degrees, crushed or blocked airways, partially severed limbs, fully severed limbs, internal bleeding, organ failure, chafing—we’ve got a treatment for pretty much everything!”

“I see…” Pyrrha muttered as she carefully pulled out the air medium from her nunchuks, before holstering it.

They took a break to allow Jaune to recover, along with Pyrrha rehydrating, refueling, and reviewing what weapons she’d already tried, and the many more she hadn’t. With her new experience of how vastly different Fae designs and elemental mediums could change even the most familiar tools and styles, she decided to go into Fae weapons for the next set.

For her first choice, she tried out Spiderdancers, a pair of weaponized gloves that covered her arms from the elbows down. “This is a beautiful and fascinating weapon,” Pyrrha said as she unwound some of its steel-silk fibers between her fingers, practiced weaving and tying them together using the needle-like points over her fingers. “I’m aware of the philosophy of copying designs and ideas from nature, but this is just a level beyond all that I’ve seen before…”

“Try your best to keep from getting tooentranced by them,” Ren said, armed with his own pair. “These can veryeasily turn against their own users, not to mention how easily they cut and resist being cut themselves.”

“I will,” Pyrrha said, before the two of resumed practicing.

“You’re really going to fight me with just a bunch of strings?” Jaune asked as they returned to the circle. “I mean, yeah, they’re made of metal, but still—it’s just strings!”

“To be fair, with enough creativity and skill, anything can be turned into a lethal weapon,” Pyrrha replied as she went into a wide, low stance.

Jaune looked at her dubiously, before he shrugged, and readied his own weapons again.

Taiyang blew the horn, Jaune charged at Pyrrha with an overhead slash!

She brought her hands together, tying her silk-steel threads together, before stretching them out above her like a sheet!

Twang!

Jaune’s blade bounced off of the steel-silk; surprised, he staggered backward. Pyrrha didn’t hesitate to rush in and begin her counterattack, starting with wrapping her threads around his sword. Everyone watched as she proceeded to disarm him, before beginning to tie him up, binding his limbs to his body or into odd, painful angles. It was an inelegant, inefficient job with plenty of wasted steel-silk thread as Jaune managed to flail and free parts of himself, but eventually he was completely immobilized in a razor-sharp, messy cocoon.

Finally, Pyrrha straddled him, making a new sheet of steel-silk, wrapping it around Jaune’s neck from behind, and turning it into a garrote.

Taiyang watched Jaune struggle and squirm as he was strangled for half-a-minute, occasionally glancing at Ren with a vital scanner, before he finally blew the horn again.

Pyrrha snapped the threads of her garrote, Jaune wheezed. She climbed off of him, instinctively reached out with her hand, until she noticed just how convoluted and twisted her threads were. “Uh…” she muttered, sheepishly glancing at the side.

“I’ve got this,” Ren said, coming by with gloves, scissors, and a large seam ripper. “Try not to breath too deeply or squirm, Jaune, that will just make things worse,” he said as he knelt by his side.

Jaune whimpered, and did so.

“Holy hell!” he cried after he was freed, sitting on a bench with his helmet off, examining all the nicks and cuts all over the surface of his armor. “How is this even legal to use against other people?!”

“Literally thick skin!” Nora said, chuckling as she whipped up a large bowl of armour reinforcer paste. “Believe me, you wouldn’t believe what the most senior of senior watchers can survive, even without trying to defend themselves! Oh, did you watch any footage from the Eve attack?”

“Hard not to,” Jaune replied, “it was on the news everywhere 24/7, you could hardly find someone not talking about it.”

“Then you know that part with Taiyang and the giant Death Laser?” Nora asked as she started spreading the goop out on the cuts.

Jaune’s eyes widened. “… That was him…?!”

“Yep!” Nora replied casually. “Though I guess he’s not that good of an example, seeing as he’s been out of training for over a decade and a half. If he’d been at full capacity, he could have probably taken that Cinder Fall on and then some.”

“… Uh… huh…” Jaune muttered weakly.

Jaune’s armour repaired, Pyrrha put away the spiderdancers and tried Wingblades instead, the folding sheets spanning almost the entire length of her arms. “These are so beautiful…” she muttered as she spread them all out, admired the mid-morning sun glinting off the metal.

“Wait till you slap on some fresh paint and decorations on these bad boys!” Nora said, chuckling. “It’s why they’re one of the most popular weapons for choreographed fights!”

“And in the Pits also, because of their effectiveness in actual combat,” Ren added, wearing his own set and demoing it.

And after Taiyang blew the horn, both Pyrrha and Jaune would find out just how effective.

Jaune rushed forward with a slash!

Krsshh!

Pyrrha blocked it with the folded blades of one arm, sparks flying off Jaune’s sword as it slid right off and away from her. She unfolded the blades of her other arm and aimed a slash at his neck!

Jaune raised his shield, briefly wondered why there was no screeching noise of metal on metal, until Pyrrha grabbed his shoulder and kneed him in the crotch.

The several layers of armour there absorbed most of the blow, but it sent him staggering back nonetheless. Pyrrha hooked her knee into his leg, tripped him and sent him falling to the ground. Jaune landed on his back, limbs sprawled by his sides, he watched as Pyrrha prepared to fall on top of him, one arm of blades coming down on his neck like a guillotine.

After some praise from Yang at “what could have been a shoe-in for the highlight reel!” and another check to ensure that Jaune’s neck and armour were still fine, Pyrrha exchanged the wingblades for a King’s Claw, a nearly arm-sized blade that could transform into a pair of pinchers, with a heavy blunt edge on the opposite side.

“You sure you want to be using that?” Jaune asked as Pyrrha brought it into the circle. “That seems like it’s too heavy and big to be much use in an actual fight.”

“It’s surprisingly light, actually!” Pyrrha said, making wide, fast swings with it. “Maybe not as graceful, speedy, or versatile as your sword, but that doesn’t seem to be the point of it,” she said, before she got into a combat stance, holding the main body of the blade before her like a shield.

Jaune readied his own weapons, Taiyang blew the horn, and yet another match began.

Jaune charged first, aiming a thrust at Pyrrha’s head!

Krrsshh!

She blocked it, angling her arm and the claw so Jaune’s blade would slide away from her, before she punched him in the stomach with her other arm. Again, Jaune’s armour absorbed most of the blow, but the brief opening was all Pyrrha needed to wind up her arm and bring the blunt end crashing into the side of his head.

Thud.

Jaune staggered from the force of the blow, Pyrrha bashed his head again, then started slashing. Jaune reeled from each hit, huge gashes appearing all over his armour, his shield and sword getting knocked aside as he tried to block or parry, getting closer and closer to the edge of the arena, until he was once more desperately flailing his arms to keep from falling out.

This time, however, Pyrrha didn’t hesitate to thrust and pull the trigger for the pincers, trapping Jaune’s neck between them.

Jaune choked, bashed at the blade with his weapons, dropped his weapon and tried to wrestle it open, before he was desperately slapping at it. Pyrrha freed him, and he promptly fell out of the ring and onto his rear.

“Okay, now THAT was an appropriately badass way to finish a lopsided fight, I approve!” Yang said, applauding.

With Jaune needing to have another medical check for possible neck injury, and his armour definitely needing reinforcement once again, Pyrrha took the opportunity to choose and practice with one of the more versatile and complex weapons, a Grasping Vine Staff.

“If you were a weaver, the grasping vine could be an actual, living plant you control with your magic, which would be awesome, but since you’re not, you’re just going to have to make do with magitech controls,” Nora said as she demonstrated it to Pyrrha, making the staff curl, tighten, whip out, and do the rest of the impressive range of motion it had, thanks to the segmented design of the shaft and the flexible fibers keeping them together.

Pyrrha nodded. “It’s very impressive, and I don’t doubt it’s effectiveness in real combat… but can I ask why this feels like the Fae version of an animal control pole?” she asked.

“Because it is!” Nora replied cheerfully. “Lots of weapons are useful as tools and vice versa, don’t ya know?”

“I suppose I should have realized that…” Pyrrha muttered, before she continued practicing with it.

Sometime later, the two of them were back on the field, Jaune’s armour fully repaired. Pyrrha still had one concern, however: “Are you sure you want to stick to your sword and shield?” she asked. “We’re fighting one-to-one in a flat, circular arena, I’m going to have a severeadvantage over you with my reach compared to your sword.”

“I’m sure!” Jaune replied. “These weapons are my family’s lucky heirlooms, you know!”

“Are you really sure?” Pyrrha asked.

“Yes,” Jaune replied as he went into a combat stance. “Now that I’ve had to think about it and practice, I’m sureI can fight better now.”

“If you’re this confident!” Pyrrha said, before she pulled the staff from her back.

Taiyang blew the horn, and the two fought once more.

Pyrrha struck first, thrusting several times at Jaune, before repeatedly striking him on the arms and his head. Jaune blocked some of the attacks with his shield, powered through the pain and the rest of the sharp blows as he charged at Pyrrha, closing the distance and swinging out with his sword!

Pyrrha easily dodged out of the way, thrust her staff towards his one of his legs, snared his ankle and pulled. Jaune stumbled but remained standing, Pyrrha started shuffling around the arena and yanking him right along with her.

He whacked at the shaft with his sword, tried to wrench his foot free, swung and thrust at Pyrrha, but the wood and the fibers wouldn’t give, its grasp was just to strong, and he could barely reach her, let alone get the leverage for a proper strike.

Pyrrha braced herself and swung her staff, trying to send Jaune out of bounds! Jaune stomped a foot in the ground, stopped himself, then yanked back with as hard as he could!

Pyrrha cried out, pulled towards him; Jaune let out a cry as he aimed an upward slash at her neck!

… Which missed as Pyrrha ducked her head, the blade sailing above her, before she let go of the staff and rammed herself into Jaune, sending him stumbling out of the circle.

Taiyang blew the horn, Pyrrha picked her staff back up and released its grip on Jaune’s leg. “Are you alright, Jaune?” she asked. “I doubt it could have been comfortable, having your leg constricted that powerfully for so long.”

“I’ll live…” Jaune muttered, rubbing idly at where the staff had held him. “Any weapons feel like the one for you, yet?”

“A handful, but I’d like to be thorough about this and test as many as I possibly can,” Pyrrha replied. “We might be here all day, at the most idealistic estimates. You don’t mind, do you…?”

“No, no, I really don’t mind!” Jaune said quickly. “Anything for you—andfor Weiss, and Yang, and everyone else, ‘cause they’ve been so nice letting us live her and all!”

“That’s much appreciated, Jaune,” Pyrrha said, patting him on the shoulder, before she holstered her staff, and walked back to the collection.

As she started inspecting her options, Jaune quietly wondered just what he would be facing next…

Note:Spiderdancers usually come in two pairs, one for the arms, one for the legs. There is sometimes a fifth used for a tail, or attached to the back as extra leverage or storage for silk-steel spools. And for fairly obvious reasons, very young Fae wishing to train with them start with regular, non-metallic threads.

Though Wingblades were developed for flying Fae, it wasn’t long before Air Weavers took notice and started developing a version that could be easily used by flightless folks. While it remains one of the most popular foci of choice for said class of weavers, there are many watchers that enjoy it for its versatility, its freedom of movement, and of course, its looks.

A King’s Claw is more properly known as a King Crab’s Claw. Though the Fae explicitly copied the infamous defense mechanism of said species, many liberties were taken and limitations hit; aside from size reductions and ergonomic considerations, it was difficult to make the pincer mechanism shatter bone and sever limbs like the animals themselves without severe drawbacks to the other aspects of the design, or inconvenience to the user.

The Grasping Vine Staff is also useful for agriculture, tending to plants or animals; law enforcement; alchemy; construction; childcare; cooking; wilderness exploration; and a whole host of other uses that are far too long to list here. Modifications to the shaft, the fibers, and the control mechanism are extremely common and widespread, and oftentimes encouraged.

For those curious, the Grove’s shed really is the size of your average storage shed in a backyard—it’s just that there’s a few miles worth of waterproof, reinforced, temperature-controlled bunker storage underneath it, as storage for all the things that the residents of the Grove have acquired and can’t or don’t want to dispose of for one reason or the other.

Several hours later, at around 8AM, Yang and Pyrrha took the elevator to the Schnee sisters’ home. Three of Winter’s summons were now resting above the door in their plushie forms, and their spirit forms didn’t hesitate to jump out and crowd around Yang, making threatening noises and gestures at her.

“Woah, easy, easy!”Yang said, holding out her hands as she stepped back from the angry elementals by her ankles. “I’m not here to fetch Weiss again! We’re just going to ask how she is.”

“Has anything happened to her?” Pyrrha asked. “She and Winter weren’t at breakfast earlier, and their comms have been on ‘Do Not Disturb’ all morning.”

The three summons looked at each other, quietly talking and burbling among themselves, before one of them went to a pipe by the door, lifted the cap, and got sucked inside. The other two stayed to watch Pyrrha and Yang, the latter crossing her arms at the wary looks they continued to give her.

A few minutes later, Winter stepped out, her tied into a looser bun than usual, several locks dangling around her head. “If you’re looking for Weiss, she’s drained physically and mentally from yesterday, so unless you’re offering HV recommendations, doing menial tasks for her, or bear large amuonts of blueberry frozen yogurt and/or triple chocolate cake shakes, she doesn’t want any of it.”

Yang sighed. “Damn, I was afraid of that…”

“Why are you two looking for her, if I may ask?” Winter asked.

“Pit Fighter business,” Pyrrha replied. “Specifically, we were hoping to brainstorm on what weapons and tactics I should specialize in, now that we’ve received and reviewed Weiss’ performance at the Weaver’s Terrace yesterday.”

Winter’s eyebrow rose at that. “Mind if I substitute for her?” she asked. “I’ve been wanting to get a better understanding of Fae combat, for sport or otherwise.”

Yang chuckled. “Hoping to get Uncle Qrow on a rematch someday?”

“Among other reasons,” Winter said. “So, what do you say?”

“Well, I definitely won’t say no to free help from ex-Queensguard!” Yang said, beaming.

“Neither will I, and thank you for the offer,” Pyrrha said.

“You’re welcome, now please, come inside and make yourself comfortable,” Winter said, stepping aside and gesturing in. She calmed down then ordered about the other summons that were around, and soon, Winter, Pyrrha, and Yang were sitting on the couch or one of the armchairs, summons carting in refreshments from the kitchen.

“So, how is the situation with your team?” Winter asked as a tray of tea and biscuits was hoisted onto the coffee table.

“Middle of the road, leaning on bad,” Yang replied, picking up and examining one of the biscuits before she took a bite. After a hum of approval, she continued, “Weiss’ offensive power is seriously down now that she doesn’t have access to most of her magic, which was supposed to offset her being relatively fragile and untrained; and even though Pyrrha can keep pace with the average watcher in standard exercises and unarmed combat, we’re going to be facing a lotworse once it’s time to actually get into the fray.”

“What’s the issue, or issues, then?” Winter asked asked as she picked up the tea pot, started pouring cups for each of them.

“It’s embarrassing, but I haven’t found a weapon or set of them that just feelsright to me,” Pyrrha said, blushing. “Usingthem isn’t much of an issue, as my hobby of traditional martial arts seems to be paying off in dividends now.”

“I’ll say!” Yang cried, bits of crumbs falling from her mouth. “Anything Pyrrha picks up, she can start kicking ass with it in no time! I swear, in a different life, you’ve probably already been a several-time arena champion by this point!”

“Let’s try and focus on this life, please,” Pyrrha said, before she picked up one of the cups, thanked Winter for it. “I’ve found one of the key issues is that there’s just so manyweapons, not to mention all the myriad modifications and variations that can completely change how they’re wielded and what they’re useful for, never mind the varying levels of training and skill that may or may not vastly increase their effectiveness and versatility with enough time and experience.

“It’s been difficult to find something I want to master, alongside being a solid choice for our career plan in the Pits.”

“And what would that involve?” Winter asked, taking a sip of her tea.

“First and foremost, make a good impression in our first couple of months.” Yang replied, before she took a drink from her cup. “Few folks expect a brand new team to be winning every event right off the bat, nor would anyone outside of our friends and family be following us all that closely, but I wouldlike our early record to be a mix of losses and wins, and not finally catching a break after a perpetual losing streak. The latter doesn’t really win the crowds or fans, unless you manage to keepthat winning streak from then on out as you shoot straight up the ranking ladder, and none of us have the time, the training, nor the connections for that.

“Second, kick the asses of Keren and her team, and keep our name,” Yang continued, picking up a new biscuit. “We literally paid the price to be ‘The Furies,’ and both for the sake of our brand and on principle, I’m not about to let some sore losers steal it by abusing the optics of a duel,” she growled, biting down so hard on her biscuit the whole thing fractured into dozens of crumbled pieces.

Yang cursed, an elemental helpfully came by to mop up the mess as she picked up a new biscuit. “Third and finally, build a solid team composition and general strategy,” she said, before taking a much more careful bite. “We’re not planning to get drafted in random-draw melees for more than three-four months at the absolute worst, and once we establish ourselves and a semi-solid fan base, we’re going to try and stick to short, high-risk/reward matches we can do once or thrice a month, to give time and opportunity for all the other shit we’ll be doing outside of the Pits.

“Right now, we’re thinking of just going full-on offense, seeing as that’s what me and Weiss both specialize in already, and since the matches we want tend to be on short, strict, unforgiving timers with just one or a handful of opponents, combat fatigue is the leastof our worries. Butobviously, we need to get the rep and the rank to qualify for those, and the events we’ll have to do to get there are more often than not about endurance and picking your fights wisely, letting the majority weed each other out, and conserve your energy and effort for therealthreats.

“So, any advice?”

Winter thought it over for a few minutes, sipping from her tea from time to time, before she put her cup down, and said, “I think it’d be best to have Pyrrha focus on defense, and perhaps have yourself or Weiss branch into it also to make your team more well-rounded. As you said, you’ll be forced into melees for the immediate future, and tactics putting everything into the attack almost inevitably involve great risk of injury to all parties involved. You may win a match, but what of the next match, and the ones after that, alongside whatever this Hell Hole that is the Valley will throw at us sooner or later?

“The consequences of a serious, debilitating injury; the culmination of dozens of other wounds and bruises; or just regular fatigue could easily wipe out whatever winnings you earn, among other, more dire costs.”

Yang nodded. “Points taken! We’ll do that, thanks for the advice, Winter!”

“Indeed, this will reallyhelp narrow down my choices, thank you,” Pyrrha added.

“You’re welcome.” Winter replied. “Oh, and there’s one more thing I’ve been meaning to tell you two since Weiss told me about this whole Pit Fighting business, so if would you please spare a few more moments of your time to hear me out…?”

“Of course! We’re listening,” Pyrrha said, smiling.

“I’m aware that Weiss is willingly, knowingly throwing herself headlong into danger in the Pits and her other pursuits, but since you’re both guaranteed to be by her side in the former, please try and shield her from harm as much as possible.” Winter said, her voice calm and her expression neutral. “Now, just to be clear, I’m not saying that there willbe severe consequences if ever Weiss gets seriously injured, and I can objectively trace it to some negligence, abuse, and/or inaction on either of your parts, nor can I force Weiss to do anything against her will, ironclad as it is…

“…But as her beloved older sister, I have no shortage of sway and built-up trust with her, and as much as you convinced her to sign-up for these blood sports, I’m much more confident in my ability to convince her to quit early, among other things…” she finished, icily eyeing the both of them in turn.

Pyrrha gulped, Yang was unfazed. “We promise we’ll try and make sure Weiss doesn’t end up putting herself in the hospital again,” the latter said calmly, casually putting a hand over her heart. “If the ward starts reserving a bed specially for her, it won’t be because of the Pits.”

“Excellent!” Winter said, warming up in an instant. “Is there anything else you need my help with?”

“Nope, we’re good!” Yang replied. “We’ll just see ourselves out,,” she said, grabbing a handful of biscuits to go as she stood up.

“Good luck with the Pit Fighter business!” Winter said, waving goodbye.

Soon, Pyrrha and Yang were back in the elevator, quiet burbling and whooshing sounds around them as the cab descended back down to the ground floor. “Can I ask how you managed to keep your cool back there?” Pyrrha asked.

“Eh, I’m an older sister, too, I can empathize with threatening people into helping protect your little sister,” Yang replied, idly chewing on one of the biscuits.

“Even if she’s former Queensguard?” Pyrrha asked.

“Some things are just beyond rank and martial prowess, I suppose,” Yang replied as the doors opened. “For now, let’s get to the training grounds and looking for a weapon for you; only so much time before our big debut at the Pits, and I want it to have the best chances of being a good one!”

Pyrrha nodded, and followed her out.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of metal clashing on metal only got ever louder as Pyrrha and Yang approached the training grounds, rivaled only by Nora’s loud and passionate cheering. “Come on, Jaune!” they heard her shout. “Be the rock! The mountain! The immovable object!”

“Seems like Mr. Xiao Long and Jaune have already begun theirweapons training,” Pyrrha mused.

“I’m impressed he’s moved up this quickly!” Yang said. “Dad didn’t even use a stick on anyone back at the ole dojo, not unless he was sure they’d completely mastered the basics first.”

As they entered the grounds, however, they found that only Jaune was armed with his sword and shield, while Taiyang was still just using his fists, bare and unenchanted. It didn’t seem to matter though, as each strike had Jaune reeling and staggering back, every swing of his sword effortlessly deflected or stopped in its tracks. It seemed that only Taiyang’s significantly pulling back kept Jaune’s bones and his gear from shattering on impact.

Thud!

Jaune had his back forced against a tree, Taiyang threw a right hook!

Clang!

Jaune deflected it with his shield, sending Taiyang’s fist into the bark, clumsily swinging his sword for a counterattack!

“YEAH!” Nora cried, throwing her hands up in the air.

Taiyang deflected the blade with his other hand, seamlessly transitioning into a punch aimed right at Jaune’s face. His knuckles stopped just short of Jaune’s nose, he paled and made an undignified noise.

“… NO!” Nora cried, lowering her arms. “Damn, so close!”

Jaune’s knees quaked, Taiyang unclenched his fist and pulled away.

Jaune sighed heavily as he started sliding down the length of the tree. “Still suck, huh?” he mumbled.

“Yeah, but you can still get waybetter,” Taiyang said as he grabbed his hand and hoisted him back up to his feet. “Just gotta keep on working and growing,” he said as he walked Jaune back to where they started.

Jaune just nodded, his eyes widening as he looked to the benches. “Pyrrha! Yang!” he cried, his eyes widening. “You’re both here! Uh, how long were you two standing there?”

“A little bit before Dad cornered you.” Yang replied.

“Oh…” Jaune muttered, his face drooping.

“Any luck with Weiss, you two?” Taiyang asked as they neared.

“Unfortunately no, but we did however get advice from Winter!” Pyrrha replied. “She recommended that I specialize in defense, so those are the types of weapons I’ll be trying out from here on out. If it’s not too much trouble, we’d like to borrow Nora and Ren.”

“I’ll have to get back to you on that,” Taiyang replied. “I need them to help improve Jaune’s defensive skills, especially against multiple targets.” There was suddenly a glint in his eyes. “Unless…”

“’Unless’ what?” Yang asked playfully. “You’ve got your ‘Idea Face’ and everything!”

“That I do!” Taiyang replied, grinning. “Jaune, Pyrrha, how’d you you two like to train together? Since I want Jaune here to learn how to protect himself from all kinds of weapons and situations; Pyrrha is trying to find the right gear for her; and you both need Ren and Nora’s help, we could kill severalbirds with one stone by having Jaune protect himself from Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora, then vice versa!”

“That sounds like an excellent compromise, Mr. Xiao—err, Taiyang,” Pyrrha said, smiling. “I’m amenable to it. Jaune?”

“Uh, sure, I can do that!” Jaune said.

“Then it’s settled!” Taiyang said, before turning back to Nora and Ren, cupping his hands around his mouth. “Ren, Nora! Two full sets of heavy training armour, get the prefab barricades out, and every weapon we have in there that can remotely be considered ‘defensive!’ Extra padding too, now that I think about it!”

“On it, Coach!” Nora said as she stood up, saluting Taiyang, before she and Ren headed off to the shed.

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing now?” Jaune asked, pulling at the reinforced fabric of his watcher’s training robes.

“Not nearly enough protection,” Taiyang replied. “You’re going to need a serious helmet, at the absolute minimum, not to mention I don’t want a repeat of you dying on us again.”

“… Why, exactly…?” Jaune asked.

Taiyang smirked. “No point in trying to figure out if a weapon’s right for you if you can’t go all out with it, yeah…?”

Note:Next chapter: a more in-depth look into all the many, many, manyways Fae have devised how to kill animals, each other, and eventually, the aliens that had settled on their planet, along with Jaune getting hurt and humiliated because I enjoy his suffering, and want to play on certain character flaws of his I’ve cooked up, or feel the show did not portray as well as I’d like.

Edit: Apologies for late update, I have been busy with AC Odyssey for the past week and a half.

The Keeper Team came out of the teleporter, and straight into a scene of anarchy.

The walls of the Thundercall Tunnels and Research Facility Hyrkanos echoed with the sounds of booming thunder and the roc’s deafening shrieks, hundreds if not thousands of them flying into the hollow the facility was built in, the aerie so thick and densely packed they were like one solid mass of beating wings and crackling electricity. Energy collectors, lightning rods, and power regulators exploded and melted as the rocs either overloaded them, or ripped them apart with their beaks, talons, and screams; jets and vents roared and tried to blow the rocs away and into choke-points; and what was left of the facility’s watchers were desperately firing high explosives, area-of-effect spells, and whatever else they still had left against the rocs.

With each barrage, dozens of the rocs died, shredded, exploded, shot, frozen, incinerated, gassed, or many other demises, but it seemed there were always more ready to replace them, their numbers seemingly infinite. Suddenly there was a monstrous screech, one that dwarfed the sounds of all of the other rocs combined, that chilled the bones of the Fae and their beasts, sent the watchers running and for cover and the rocs parting to make way.

“SCRAW…!”

Zeus V burst into view, barely slowing down from the high-force winds blasting him, demolishing buildings and towers just by flying through them, the electricity from his feathers blowing up and setting fire to whatever was still standing. Dozens of his brethren flew in his wake, becoming living shields for Zeus, helping lay waste to the other buildings, or attacking the watchers, even carrying off some unlucky Fae and animals.

Most managed to fight their way out of their talons, or their allies shot the rocs down, but a handful didn’t make it, their screams drowned and their fates unseen as the rocs rapidly swarmed around them. Zeus flew back out the hollow, almost completely unscathed, while the watcher’s defense line was pulled back, just one or two more retreats before Hyrkanos was at the mercy of the aerie.

Blake looked back at the portal as it was forced to shut down; the few dozen or so Apex-class watchers and animal companions that had made it alongside the Keeper Team; back to the observation window; then finally, at Ruby. <Let me guess: we’re the ones that are going to be hunting down Zeus?>

<Yep!>Ruby said cheerfully.

Blake sighed heavily, her ears tilting downward. <Alright, it’s not like I didn’t ask for this…>

Soon, the reinforcements were briefed, and equipped with flight packs, hookshots, and special armour for withstanding the roc’s electrical and sonic attacks, among other necessities. Save for Zwei who was joining the mobile artillery units, every member of the Keeper Team plus Blake were to be loaded into a series of shells, then fired out of a giant electromagnetic cannon.

<I feel obliged to disclose: this method of deploying into battle is not entirely safe and carries great risk of personal injury, even in ideal circumstances,> Penny said as the weavers and makers buffed them with spells, and covered them ear tips to toes with mixtures and solutions.

<It’s alright,> Blake replied. <Believe me, I’ve gone into life and death situations muchworse than this.>

They were loaded in, the runes and the magitech along the barrel started crackling and humming as it was aimed at where Zeus would swoop down. Zwei and the other artillery units continued their barrages, until finally, that deafening screech echoed through the caverns again:

“SCRAW…!”

<NOW!>

The artillery units ceased fire, the Keeper Team deployed.

Thoom. Thoom. Thoom.

Any rocs they hit instantly turned into a fine bloody mess, those around them were swept away and sent spinning. Zeus barely had time to pull out of his dive and flap his feathers, making a giant electric shield in front of him.

Krrzzsshh!

The shells exploded, the shrapnel flew away from Zeus, killing and injuring the other rocs nearby, or making harmless nicks on his hide or damaging the tips of his feathers. He almost seemed to smile smugly, up until he saw Ruby and the rest of the Keeper Team flying out towards him.

Slash!

Ruby got him in the neck, the large, ugly gash bleeding profusely. Zeus howled in pain, swiftly turning around and retreating, the Keeper Team either jetted after him with their flight packs, or clung onto him with their hookshots.

Zeus flew out of the hollow to the giant, open cavern outside Hyrkanos, started doing sharp dips and rises, hard turns near walls and rock formations, and barreling around in the air, outmaneuvering or shaking off Qrow, Ren, and Nora. Ruby almost flew off, too, until Blake whipped out her breakneck and caught her, Penny helping reel her in, then keep them all secured on Zeus’ back.

Zeus let out a frustrated screech, before he dove to the ground, talons gouging the rocks before he stopped completely. He started looking around, raising his wings, violently shaking and turning around, trying to find where the three of them were.

Boom-boom-boom.

Smokebombs exploded in Zeus’ face, he coughed and flapped his wings, blowing it away. His whole body crackled and surged with electricity, lightning discharging randomly all around him, but Penny, Blake, and Ruby were just too fast or too tough, dodging them or tanking the blasts without ill-effects, slashing and shooting at him as they circled around him, or dashed underneath his wings and legs.

Zeus suddenly let out a long, piercing screech, the sound echoing and shaking the caverns, Ruby, Penny, and Blake forced to cover their ears as their sound dampeners were pushed to their limits. Zeus whole body glowed as he concentrated all the energy in his body, before it discharged in a wave around him, the rushing electricity and air blowing them back and stunning them.

Deafened and disoriented, they didn’t hear Zeus’ reinforcements arriving, notice the large roc swooping down on them until Blake found herself picked up, and being swarmed by dozens of smaller rocs.

<BLAKE!> Ruby screamed as she started chasing after her.

<FORGET ABOUT ME!> Blake shouted back. <FOCUS ON ZEUS!>

<Like hell we are!> Ruby cried, holstering her scythe and holding out her arm. <Penny!>

<On it!> Penny cried, taking it.

Ruby threw her into the swarm of rocs, Penny discharged a wave of magic from her arms, stunning and disorienting them and Blake. She fell out of their claws, Ruby dashed forward and caught her, before continuing on back the path to Hyrkanos. Dazed, injured, and out of breath, she could only look back and watch Zeus having his wounds tended to by his smaller brethren.

<Keeper Team, rendezvous with me at the following location, be warned that Zeus and lackeys are still alive!> Ruby said, marking an area in her mask’s mini-map. <Bring Zwei, too, I think we might need med-vac!>

<Roger!> Nora called back. <FYI, we drove the rest of the rocs out of the hollow and pushed the defense line back up, it’s basically a shooting gallery here!>

<Is it bad?>

<Hell no! Zeus being gone has really given us the upper hand!> Nora said, before she resumed fighting.

Ruby, Penny, and Blake stopped behind a patch of rocks, just before they ran into the chaos in the cavern nearby. Ruby laid Blake down on the ground, before Penny was kneeling over her and scanning her.

<How’s it looking?> Ruby asked.

<Extensive damage to the first and second layers of her armour and to her flight pack, potential internal organ damage and hearing loss from all the electric shocks and sonic blasts, some lacerations to the epidermis,> Penny said as she sprayed Blake down with medicine, then temporary reinforcement for her armour.

<Why did you save me?> Blake asked. <You could have killed Zeus back there, he was getting desperate!>

Ruby looked back at her, smiling underneath her mask as she said, <I promised to protect you, right?>

There was suddenly a commotion nearby, screeching and dying rocs, and the sounds of gunfire and fighting. Ruby and Penny tensed up, until Zwei leaped into view, Nora and Ren on his back, Qrow flying close behind them.

“Yippee ki-yay, motherfuckers!” Nora squealed as she and Ren fired a barrage of bullets and explosives at the rocs chasing them, until they retreated..

<What?> Blake asked as she stood back up.

<Holo-Vision quotes, she does that a lot,> Ruby replied. <You good to fight still?>

Blake nodded. <Let’s roast that bird.>

<Just so you know, they’re best boiled, slow roasted, or slow cooked,> Qrow said as he and the others readied their weapons again, turned back into the tunnel. <Otherwise they’re tough as bark and taste about as pleasant.>

They were about to advance back to the tunnels, when they heard it: the sounds of wings flapping in near unison, rumbling thunder and crackling electricity, an all too familiar monstrous screech:

<SCRAW…!>

They started firing, slashing, and throwing out more bombs as the rocs went straight for them, surrounding them and even tackling them to the ground; they only realized that they were on a suicide charge as Zeus flew past them while they were occupied.

Blake managed to hook her breakneck on his back, Ruby dashed and sliced through several rocs and managed to grab onto her, before the both of them were yanked off and high up into the air. Zeus kept on climbing, what remained of his aerie swooping around him and taking the shots and distracting the watchers rushing after him, his whole body crackling and charging with electricity once more. He abruptly near the roof of the cavern and hovered in the air, too busy glowering at the firing line in Hyrkanos to notice Ruby and Blake flying upwards and above him by her breakneck’s cable.

Time seemed to slow down as they hit the peak of their swing, where they looked at the dozens of Fae and beasts that were at the firing line and around them, down at Zeus clearly building up to something catastrophic, then at each other.

<Do it.> Blake said firmly.

<I’m sorry.> Ruby whispered back.

<Don’t be.> Blake said, before she activated her breackneck’s reel.

The two of them screamed through the air, going faster and closer to Zeus with each second. Ruby let go of Blake, pulling out her scythe and prepared for a massive swing, her scythe’s blade growing bright silver. Blake closed her eyes as she fell past Zeus, serene and calm as she awaited the inevitable.

Shing!

Zeus seemed to continue hovering in the air for a moment, seemingly unharmed, before his eyes widened, blood spewed out from the new, clean line around his neck, and finally, he exploded.

Boom.

The thunderous blast deafened and disoriented Blake, the shockwave ripping her breakneck off Zeus’ back and sending her hurtling through the air. With her flight pack broken, it was only a matter of time before she was dashed against some rocks or the ground.

<Guess this is it,> she thought to herself, before she smiled, and waited for the end…

… Only it never came, as Qrow snatched her out of mid-air, desperately flapping his wings and trying to slow them down, steer them away from any rock formations or stalactites, until finally the others caught them and brought them safely to a stop.

Behind them, Zeus beheaded, charred carcass crashed to the ground, forming a massive crater as it hit. Ruby landed on it shortly after, breaking several of its bones. The watchers and the other Fae watching waited in suspense, until finally, Ruby said:

<Hope you meat-eaters out there are fine with your roc being extra burnt!>

The Thundercall Taverns echoed with the sound of cheering and applause.

“Blake wasn’t instantly promoted to the Keeper Team after that—she was still a fugitive here under reallyterrible circumstances, after all—but the Hyrkanos Defense didgo a long way into helping her officially become part of our team two months later.  Maybe it was fate, or because we already worked and gelled really well with her for the most part, but we just couldn’t find anyone better to fill the spot other than her.

“And that, Weiss, is how Blake ended up joining the Keeper Team!” Ruby said proudly.

“Wow,” Weiss said, smiling, “is recruiting new members always this exciting?”

“Nah,” Ruby said, “Penny’s was a lot less dramatic. I could tell you it sometime—but probably not now, you should probably be going to bed.”

Weiss nodded, before she yawned. “Yeah, it’s probably safe for me to lie down now… thank you for the story and the conversation, Ruby, I really appreciate it.”

“Any time I can help it, Weiss!” Ruby said, smiling. “Sleep well, I love you.”

“I love you too, Ruby, have a nice rest of your shift,” Weiss said, before she closed the connection.

Ruby sighed and frowned as the holo disappeared, she pulled her farsighter to her eyes and resumed scanning her surroundings with Iaros. A few minutes later, she put it down, pulled out her comm-crystal again, and sent a text message:

“Uncle Qrow? You up?”

“I am now,” Qrow replied a few moments later. “What’s up?”

“Do you mind if we holo-chat?” Ruby asked.“It’s real quick, I promise.”

Qrow sent a connection request, and his bleary-eyed face soon appeared before Ruby. “Like I said, what’s up?” he said groggily.

“I was just telling Weiss the story of how Blake ended up on the team, and I wanted to thank you again for deciding to let us keep her around, and saving her back at Hyrkanos,” Ruby said. “I know you had a shit-ton of issues with her and would have thrown her into the Roost if you could, but you didn’t.”

“I said it before, I’ll say it again: I wasn’t doing it for her,” Qrow said flatly.

“I know, Uncle Qrow, but I’m still thankful,” Ruby said. “Sorry for waking you up, and I love you.”

“Love you too, kiddo, now pleaselet me go the fuck to sleep,” Qrow said.

“I will, promise,” Ruby said, shutting the connection, before returning to her duties for real.

Note:Thundercall Rocs are one of the apex predators of the Thundercall Caverns, and one of the most notorious at that. They are extremely fast and voracious breeders, are purely carnivorous and eat pretty much any other animal in the Caverns, sentient or otherwise, and are infamously impossible to tame or domesticate.

In the words of one Tender who tried and failed miserably, “They’re bitey, zappy, screechy bastards who’d sooner blow up your entire aviary for shits and giggles than try to sit on your command.”

Qrow took one long, slow drink from his flask, pulled it from his lips, and sighed heavily. <Alright, I’m good—let them in,> he mumbled as he capped it again, put it away in the inner pocket of his shirt.

Soon, the door on the other side of the room opened up, their first interviewee of the day strode to the dais in the center of the room, Ruby and the rest of the Keeper Team surrounding her. They exchanged the usual formalities, before she knelt down on the large cushion provided for her, bathed in the light streaming through the high windows.

<Welcome to the first round of interviews for the Keeper Team!> Penny said smiling. <First off, congratulations for making it this far! Second, for the purposes of uniformity, we will have to request that you please communicate almost-to-entirely in Actaeon, save for any Nivian sayings, concepts, or quotes that you feel will not, or cannot translate adequately. Third, though we are sure you are already well aware, the questions we may ask you can get intenselypersonal, and that you are free to ask such questions back, if either of us feel that they may be relevant, or might prove to be a significant asset or liability in the future.

<With that out of the way: please state your name, who you are, and how your merits and achievements make you the best candidate for this position!>

<I am Anouke Kalla,> Anouke replied. <I have been a watcher since I was old enough to walk and handle a knife, and have been hunting down, slaying, and skinning almost every dangerous beast and horrific monster that lurks in this Valley for the past five decades. Whether they stalk no man’s land, lurk in the darkest, murkiest depths, or soar the most treacherous skies, I can guarantee you I have faced and bested them all, with one notable exception:

<Soul Eaters.>

Anouke put her hand to her breast, looked Ruby in the eyes, and said, <I swear, Keeper Rose, grant me the honour of serving under you, and those monsters will learn to fear my presence as much as yours.>

<Yeah, say no more, you’re out.> Qrow said calmly.

Anouke’s eyes widened, she snapped her head to Qrow. <Excuse me?!>

<We don’t need overconfident big game hunters who want to be part of team just get close to a Soul Eater, and try to bag its head for a trophy,> Qrow said. <They’re not ‘fun,’ or a ‘worthy challenge,’ they’re an abomination of magic and science we have to stop at all costs—even if it means killing it so hard there’s nothing left of it that you can see without the help of a scanner or a microscope.>

<Yeah, I’m really sorry, Watcher Kalla, but Uncle Qrow has a point,> Ruby said. <You have to put your very all into fighting a Soul Eater—and every bit you spend on trying to kill it in a way that preserves its body, rather than just doing everything you can to ensure it’s dead is more opportunity for the Soul Eater to kill you, instead.>

Anouke scowled, before she let out a short, disappointed sigh. <I feel you are incurring a great loss by rejecting me… but very well, I will respect your decision, Keeper,> she said, turning back to Ruby, and bowing her head. <Thank you for your time and the opportunity.>

Ruby and the rest of the Keeper Team said their half of the formal farewell, before Anouke was out the door, and the next candidate came in.

“Wow, that quickly and just for that reason?” Weiss asked.

“Yep!” Ruby said. “It’s kinda like one of those economic theories or something, where there’s hundreds of folks that want to fill in a vacant, permanent spot in the Keeper Team, so we can just pick and choose whoever we think is going to be the absolute best of the best, though there were some folks where the issues were more, uh, personal.”

“Such as?”

“Well…”

It was mid-day now when yet another candidate strode into the room, a pair of well-worn headphones around their neck. <Yo, name’s Yral Revene, but you might know me by my stage name: ‘Jackdaw,’> they said. <Officiallymy job is as a watcher-weaver, but only to pay the bills while I work on my real job: music maker. I want in on the Keeper Team as you all are gonna be the key to my revolutionizing music and weaving, and it’s going to start with me helping you kick Soul Eater tail like never before!>

<That’s an incredibly bold statement,> Ren said. <May you please explain how exactly you are planning to do this…?>

<With the freedom to use my Sound, is what,> Jackdaw replied. <I’ve been forced to use all the stock standard sheets and songs, so me and the rest of the sound weavers can harmonize and collab easy-like, and even then, I’ve barely been allowed to use my Sound on the field.>

<Your ‘Sound’…?> Ruby asked.

<They mean their personally composed music,> Penny said.

<Oh!> Ruby said. <So, is this also a set of custom-made and modified spells, then?>

<Yes,> Jackdaw replied. <I could go on and on about how awesome it is, but I think I should just let my Sound speak for itself,> they said, pulling out an external speaker and their comm-crystal.

<Excuse me!> Penny said, rising up from her seat. <I would like to remind you that elemental weaving of any sort is forbidden inside the interview room, and will be considered an attempt to harm the Keeper or her teammates, with the according grave punishment!>

<Relax, it’s justthe music this time!> Jackdaw replied as they set it down, before they smiled. <You can experience the rest later, at the Grove. Ready?>

Everyone agreed to it, or didn’t mind, except for Qrow, who said <Hold on.> then ripped open one of the cushions, and plugged his hearing-holes with the stuffing.

<Oh come on, Uncle Qrow, aren’t you overreacting?> Ruby asked him.

<Alright, go!> Qrow said loudly, either ignoring her, or unable to hear.

Without any further issues, Jackdaw grinned, and pressed play, their personal music booming and filling the room. Merely ten seconds in, the smiles on Ruby and Nora’s faces disappeared, Zwei whined and pressed his two heads together and covered his outermost ears with his paws, while Penny looked concernedly at the increasingly uncomfortable and displeased members of the Keeper Team, sans Qrow.

<Oh, Eluna, make it stop!> Blake cried, clapping her hands over her ears.

<I’m really sorry, but please do!> Ruby added.

<Seriously?> Jackdaw asked, frowning. <It’s just new! It’s like an acquired taste! You’ll learn to love it, I swear!>

<My sincerest apologies, but I will really have to ask you to stop, or be forced to!> Penny cried. <Any more of this, and you might be charged with harassing and psychologically harming the Keeper and her Team.>

“And then there were some folks who’d been doing incredibly well, but we had to make the tough decision to reject them because of one deal-breaker or another…”

It was afternoon now, the curtains on the windows drawn to keep the glare of the sun from being too powerful. It was already past 2, their agreed upon lunch break, but they delayed it for the sake of their latest interviewee.

<… While I doubt I will be able to concoct, or even begin to research on something that might affect the Soul Eaters themselves, I’m sure that I’ve proven that my potions can be a great boon to you and the rest of the team, in combat or out of it,> he finished.

<Indeed you have, Maker Nyimu!> Penny said, smiling. <There’s just one more aspect from your record that we would like to address: we’re rather concerned about how dramatically your combat performance dropped after you finished drug rehabilitation, both in training exercises and live situations, and how that might be a liability when it comes to high-stakes situations like a Soul Eater attack.>

Nyimu frowned. <Ah, yes… to be honest, most of my stellar performance before it was all thanks to the constant abuse of enhancers, or using more to escape the consequences. Again, I swear I will improve myself without the cheap, dangerous shortcuts.>

<We know,> Qrow said, <but let me give you a hypothetical situation: everyone but you and Ruby are down or dead. She’s in deep shit, you’re the only one that has a hope in hell of saving her, but you know that the only way you can do it is if you pop a pot, or jam a needle into your arm, give you the boost you need.

<Would you do it…?>

Nyimu was silent, his eyes widening in surprise, before his face contorted into all manner of expressions, the inner turmoil clear for all to see. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it again, before finally, he sighed heavily, slumped his shoulders, and shook his head. <No, Watcher Branwen, I believe I cannot…> he said. <Even a single misstep will be all it takes to fall again into addiction, I’m certain of it..>

<So you don’t think you can sacrifice yourself, if it comes to that?> Ruby asked sympathetically.

Nyimu looked at her, and said, <No Keeper—I apologize.>

<Nothing to be sorry about.> Ruby said. <Though, I am sorry to say you’re not going on the Keeper team.>

<I expected as much,> Nyimu said, smiling ruefully. He bowed, they went through the formal goodbyes, and left.

As soon as he was out the door, everyone started getting up off their cushions and stretched, groans and sighs of relief echoing in the room.

<Ugh, I’m so glad it’s finally over…> Blake muttered as she arched her back. <Please don’t take this as a personal insult, everyone, but I never realized how much truth there was to the stories of what kinds of Fae would want to apply for the Keeper Team… I always assumed there was some element of exaggeration and fabrication to it to make it a more entertaining story, not that they were just reporting it as is!>

<Yeah, Keepers tend to attract misfits, outcasts, and oddballs almost as much as they do trouble,> Qrow said, bending his arms back and forth between their usual and flying configurations. <And sometimes, they’re both at once,> he added, looking pointedly at Blake.

She scowled, and said nothing.

<Benice, Uncle Qrow,> Ruby snapped softly, before she smiled at Blake. <So, since this is your first time in the Bastion and being out of the house in general since you got here, anything you want to get for lunch? There’s plenty of great restaurants here, and I’m sure we can convince the Council to foot for our bill.>

<If none of you mind, I would really appreciate someplace that serves fish,> Blake replied. <Preferably fresh.>

<Oh, well you’re in luck!> Nora said, grinning. <Ren and I know this great seafood place in the Tender’s Fields, serves pretty much everything—freshwater and saltwater fish, squids, octopi, shellfish, algae, seaweed—heck, they even have these neat compressed balls of plankton you eat like chips! You even get a discount if you catch it yourself.>

Blake smiled. <I’d really like that, actually.>

<Any objections?> Ruby asked. When there were none, she smiled and said, <Then let’s go get some lunch!>

Then as if on cue, all of their comm-crystals sans Blake’s started flashing and beeping wildly in alarm, similar alarms echoing elsewhere in the Roost. Penny projected a holo and read aloud the message:

<Emergency Alert! Research Facility Hyrkanos in the Thundercall Tunnels is under attack by an aerie of Thundercall Rocs, confirmed lead by ‘Zeus V!’ Requesting Keeper Team and other Apex-class watchers to reinforce within an hour or less! Outposts have been overrun or isolated, security has sustained casualties and infrastructure has been severely damaged, evacuations impossible without outside assistance!>

<Isn’t Thundercall where we were supposed to go in three weeks?> Ruby cried as they started running.

<Looks like the date’s been moved forward, kiddos!> Qrow cried back.

<Sorry to sound self-centered, but what’s going to happen to me?>Blake butted-in as she kept pace with them. <I’m supposed to be with at least one of you at all times!>

<Simple: we take you with us!> Ruby replied. <Your equipment’s all fixed now, and you said it yourself that you’re willing to fight and hunt with us, right?>

<There’s a lot of legal mumbo jumbo about Keeper’s deputizing folks, so don’t worry about going to jail, and just focus on not dying!> Nora chirped. <It’d be reallytragic and awful if you died so soon after you just got introduced into the story!>

Blake looked strangely at her, before she shook her head, and kept on running.

Note: Qrow, like many avian Fae, does not have ears, and has hearing-holes instead. Ren also has them, as reptilian Fae and some more exotic subspecies like snake Fae have acquired adaptations from others over the millenia, though the earliest of them reportedly could only “taste” sound or had very poor audio perception.

Soon, all the members of the Keeper team, permanent or part-time, were sitting on top of a tangle of roots, munching on energy bars and sipping from canteens as they looked at the holo Penny was projecting, listened to Ruby discussing their plan.

“…And just so you all know: if it turns out they’ve seriously hurt or killed Zwei, I’m murderingthem.” Ruby said by the end of it. “Everyone clear?”

“Crystal,” everyone replied.

“Great,” Ruby said before she put her mask on. “Let’s do this.”

Qrow took to the air, Ren climbed up the trees and jumped from branch to branch, both scouted out the area. They found Zwei with his heads stuck in a large knothole, balancing his body on the mouth and a sturdy, large branch just underneath him. When nothing else of interest turned up, they all began to prepare to move into position.

Qrow and Nora perched on branches within sight of the knothole, loading a crossbow, or grenades, gas and anti-magic. Ren readied his blades and climbed above the mouth of the hole, ready to drop on unsuspecting intruders. Ruby and Penny climbed up to the branch Zwei was balancing on, and began to approach him, weapons in their hands.

“Zwei,” Ruby whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. “Zwei, are you alright?”

Zwei quietly tapped his right hind paw twice.

“Did you find an intruder, boy?”

Twice again.

“Do you think they’re dangerous?”

He tapped with his left once, then his right.

“Are they still armed?”

Again, the same gesture.

“Do you think there’s a good chance they might be a weaver?”

He double-tapped his left hind paw this time.

“Do you think they might escape once you pull out?”

Two taps with the right.

Ruby nodded, then turned to Penny. “You ready?”

“Absolutely,” Penny replied, putting her tail into Ruby’s hand, and her own hands around her mouth.

<This is Keeper Ruby Rose, of the Viridian Valley!>Ruby said, her voice booming through the trees. <You are suspected of trespassing into Keeper’s Grove, and for security reasons, we can’t just let you turn around and leave.Pleaseidentify yourself, your affiliation, and your purpose for being here, then surrender yourself peacefully into our custody within the next five minutes, starting now!

<If you do not, we’ll be forced to arrest you and hand you over to the Watcher’s Roost! Trust me, you reallydo not want to know what’ll happen if we have to do this thehardway!>

They waited for five long, tense minutes, and after there was no response, no motion, Ruby called out, <Your time’s up! We’re moving in to arrest you! Please do not resist, you are surrounded, we are all armed, and you’re in some seriously deep legal trouble if you try to fight, I’m warning you!

<Zwei! Get them out of there!>

Zwei barked, before he lunged, and carefully brought their intruder out of the knothole by the nape of their neck. Everyone tensed up, prepared to spring into action, until they all got a good look of their suspect: a female cat Fae, filthy from the tips of her ears to her tail, her armour severely battered and weathered, her whole body almost entirely skin and bones.

<Please…> she whispered, her voice barely audible as she trembled and shook. <Your dog…>

She fainted before she could say any more.

“Wow.” Weiss said. “Did you take her to the hospital?”

“No, but that was only because we could treat Blake just fine at the Grove,” Ruby replied. “Penny managed to revive her pretty much immediately, and since she was trying to head there in the first place, she went without a fuss—Nora had to carry her, though, because she didn’t want to be anywhere nearZwei.”

Weiss nodded. “That’s good to hear… so why was she trying to head into Keeper’s Grove?”

“I’ll get to it later, promise!” Ruby said. “Anyway, we gave her food, a sponge bath, fresh clothes, and a place to sleep. All we needed to do for security was station Zwei outside Varryn’s old room—or, I guess, Blake and Penny’s room right now— so we could sit down for a proper dinner ourselves. Then, we had a very important emergency meeting…”

“So, what are we going to do with her?” Ruby asked as they all sat around the kitchen table, the plates all cleared.

“I say we turn her into the Roost, let the Watchers and Seekers decide what’s going to happen to her,” Qrow said, resting his open flask on the table. “We’ve got enough problems as is, trying to look for a replacement for Varryn before the deadline, and there’s this strong feeling in the pit of my gut that she’s going to be bringing moretrouble than she will be solving them.”

“I say we keep her detained her at the Grove for the time being,” Penny said. “By my observations of her vitals and behaviour, it’s much, muchmore probable that she’s been desperately trying to reach this place, and has gone through great efforts and much suffering to do so. It would serve us well to learn her motives and reasons for this journey, and I believe that keeping her in our custody and care will help us earn the necessary trust.”

“I’m with Penny!” Nora chimed in. “Come on, guys: pretty much nobody ends up here in the Grove in a super dramatic, major ‘early-to-mid-season plot development’ way by accident! There has to be a HUGE reason she’s here, and she doesn’t feel like a one-off character to me! Plus, consider the timing: she came here on the same day that Varryn finally left the team for good, we’ve got a really short deadline to find his replacement, and she’s alsoprobably someone who’s a wilderness expert.

“Did you see how she looked like when Zwei pulled her out? Where we found her, so high up on the trees, away from most potential predators? Nobody does that if they haven’t had plenty of wilderness experience, and had been roughing it out for weeks, maybe even months.”

“Which begs the question of why she needed to do all that, and sneak into the Grove via the surrounding swamp, instead of taking the Tube station,” Ren countered. “I’m very sorry, Nora, but I have to agree with Qrow: the answer to that, among other questions, is likely going to involve some dark, complicated, and dangerous business, one handled best by the Roost and not by us.”

“So that’s two for two, looks like you’re going to be the tiebreaker, kiddo,” Qrow said as everyone turned to look at Ruby. “What do you think?”

Ruby looked uneasy, then sighed. “I think we should all finally go to bed, sleep on it, and decide again in the morning.”

“A prudent choice,” Penny said, smiling and nodding.

“And one that could potentially give whatever or whoever she might be running from time to catch up,” Qrow grumbled. “Eh, fuck it, just try and sleep with your weapons in reach, alright?”

“Alright, Uncle Qrow,” Ruby said, before they all got up, and got ready for bed, except for Penny who chose to charge herself just outside the room they were keeping their suspect in.

Morning came, and Ruby came over to their suspect’s room with a bowl of Fuerte Flakes, a bottle of milk for it, and a fresh cup of black moss tea. “How is she?” she asked Penny.

“According to my scans through the door, and Zwei’s visual checks from the window, she’s perfectly fine, and there have been no noteworthy incidents.” Penny replied. “She appears to have slept through the entire night, likely due to overexhaustion, and a severe lack of sleep.”

“Is she awake now?” Ruby asked.

“There’s a very, verylow probability of that, and Zwei is also currently taking a break, so we cannot check.” Penny replied. “However, I don’t think she will protest being woken up and offered breakfast! Am I correct in assuming that you also want to check up on her personally, and make some inquiries?”

“Yeah, I do,” Ruby said, nodding. “I still want to keep her here if we can, but I’ve been thinking about what Uncle Qrow and Ren said, and we really do need to know if it’s going to be safe to do so. Can you let me in?”

“Of course!” Penny said, smiling. “Though, for security reasons, I will have to insist on joining you inside.”

“Can we not?” Ruby asked. “I think it might be uncomfortable for her to have twoof us in the room, seeing as it’s not very big and all.”

“I’m afraid we really have to, Ruby,” Penny said. “The personal risk to you aside, we will be missing an extremely valuable opportunity to acquire information from her if I have to rely on your second-hand account, not to mention any small details you may miss, or lines of inquiry that you may not pursue.”

Ruby sighed. “Okay, you’ve got good points… ready?”

“If you are also, Ruby,” Penny said, smiling.

“Then let’s do this.”

Penny nodded, before she turned around and knocked on the door. <Good morning, Miss! I am going to enter your room now, apologies if we have caught you at an inconvenient time!>  she said, before she opened the door.

True to her earlier estimate, their suspect was just stirring from sleep, groaning and shaking her head as she slowly sat up in her nest. She sniffed the air, her eyes widening and her ears twitching in panic, before she quickly relaxed.

<How are you this morning, Miss?> Penny asked as she entered first.

<Better…> their suspect mumbled, pulling the sheets off of her and getting into a more comfortable position.

<You hungry? We brought breakfast!> Ruby said as she stepped in afterward, closing the door behind her with her foot.

The suspect looked, and smiled. <That’d be great. Thanks.>

<We’d also be quite grateful if you could answer some questions for us, starting with your name, your affiliation, and why you are here,> Penny added as she took the tray from Ruby, and set it down on the floor in front of the nest.

The smile on the suspect’s face disappeared, her ears flattening as she suddenly looked uneasy.

<Is there going to be a problem with that, Miss?> Penny asked, still smiling.

<Kind of… please, can I just answer the third question first?>

Penny glanced over her shoulder at Ruby, she shrugged, sat down behind Penny, and said, <Sure, why not?>

The suspect shifted again into a kneeling position, before she bowed, her head down as she said, <Keeper Ruby Rose, my life is in danger and I beg you, please, let me work for you, in exchange for your protection.

<This threat has been relentless, cruel, and determined, and they have already driven me out of my home; have forced me to cut ties with my friends, family, and community for their safety, if they had not done so already; and I know if they find me again, they will kill me, orworse.

<You are my best hope, among what little options I have left. This threat will stop immediately if they know I am serving under you, as they wouldn’t daretry to earn the ire of you nor the Eldan Council. I am a skilled and experienced huntress, spy, and warrior, and believe I can be a valuable addition to the Keeper Team, but I will be your obedient server doing whatever you ask of me, if I have to.

<So, please, I beg of you: let me work for you.>

<Can I at least have your name, what this threat is, and how you got to this point…?> Ruby asked.

The suspect was suddenly incredibly uneasy. <I fear what might happen to both of us if I share that information with you right now.>

<Because you don’t know if I’m going to stick my neck out for you yet?> Ruby asked.

The suspect nodded, and said, <Yes. If–>

<No.> Ruby said, firmly and calmly.

The suspect blinked, and looked at Ruby. <Pardon…?>

<No, I am not going to protect you!> Ruby said, scowling now. <I can’t blame you for thinking that we Keepers will take pretty much anyone who shows up at our doorstep, because we do, but do you seriouslythink that I’m going to risk my, my friends, and my family’s safety before you even tell me the most basicbits of information like your name, and who you are?!

<Before I commit to anything,show me that I can trust you, and you can do that by telling me everything.>

The suspect frowned, the dramatic internal conflict playing out inside of her clear on her face. <Keeper–>

<Shut up.> Ruby snapped. <Unless the next words out of your mouth are your name, who you are, and who or what you ended up pissing off so badly you needed to run all the way here from wherever in this realm you used to call ‘home,’ I am personally kicking you out of my house, shoving you into the cargo hold of a Log, before personally dragging you into the Watcher’s Roost.

<Then,you can go beg for protection from them.>

The suspect’s face fell, her ears and tail drooping; she was quiet for a while as Ruby continued to look at her, a calm expression on her face, until finally she said, <My name is Blake… Blake Belladonna.>

“We ended up spending the whole morning listening to her story. And sorry to say, Weiss, you’re going to have to ask Blake about all the details herself—she made us promise that she’d be the one to tell it herself.”

“I understand,” Weiss said. “It sounds like it’ll spiral into an entirely new story that’ll have us here till dawn, anyway.”

“Boy, will it ever!” Ruby said, chuckling. “Anyway, after we relayed it to the others, most of us voted to keep Blake around, though she ended up shuffled to the very bottom of the priorities list as we focused on finding Varryn’s replacement again.

“It all worked out though, because Blake was more than happy to spend all day indoors locked in her room, only coming out for food, exercise, and the bathroom. We ended up taking her with us when it was time for the face-to-face interview with the candidates, though…”

Note: Theoretically, you COULD in fact fit two average-sized individuals into a single Log, but it’s uncomfortable, to say the least. Abner experimented with numerous multi-passenger designs after the first single-passenger models were finalized and mass-produced, but thanks to the limitations of the supporting infrastructure, he ended up modifying it to the single-passenger plus cargo designs today.

<I’m really very sorry we have to part ways like this, Ruby…> Varryn said as they bowed, all of their belongings in a sack on their back, and the Grove’s Tube station behind them.

<It’s alright, Varryn, we all knew it was much more likely to end like this than not,> Ruby said, bowing back.

<I really do wish that I could have lasted longer in the team’s service, Ruby!> Varryn said as they bent back up. <You’ve been an excellent leader, both within and outside of the walls of the Bastion, and a great friend beside; and to say that the credentials and the experience I’ve acquired in my relatively short time with all of you will be invaluable for the rest of my life will be a severeunderstatement!>

<Aww, thank you, Varryn!> Ruby replied, smiling now. <You’ve been a great team member and a wonderful friend, too. I’m sure we’d have had spent waymore time and had a wholelot more stress trying to navigate, hunt, and trap in the wilds if we didn’t have your skills, not to mention your help with all the Big Game, like Grarr VII!>

The colour drained from Varryn’s face, particularly impressive due to the dark colour of their skin.

<Sorry.> Ruby whispered.

Varryn gulped down the lump that had formed in their throat, before awkwardly jerking a paw behind them. <I’m just going to be leaving now, Ruby… need to get settled in my new home, get my affairs here straightened out, before it’s back out to the wilds again!> they said, backpedaling to the Log that was awaiting them.

<Good luck with all that, Varryn!> Ruby cried, waving. <And if you ever need anything from us, don’t hesitate to call!>

<I won’t, thank you, Ruby!> Varryn shouted back, before they swiftly spun around, stuffed their sack of belongings as quickly as they could into the cargo hold, before diving in and strapping the belts in place all by themselves.

The two Tube technicians looked at each other, shrugged, and proceeded to shut the hatch on Varryn, before sending them out of Keeper’s Grove for the last time. Ruby stood where she was for a few moments, before she sighed, turned around, and went back to the house with her head hung.

As she stepped back into the living room, she found everyone still at the “command center,” a table set up with Ruby’s terminal, plus a handful of loaned units. Qrow was the first to look up from his screen, and waved at Ruby. “Welcome back, kiddo, got to say goodbye Varynn like you wanted?”

“Yep! Managed to screw it up, but hey, it’s not like we’ll probably be hearing or seeing from them any time soon!” Ruby said as she plunked herself down on her chair, and reactivated her terminal. “Thanks for the break, everyone, I really appreciate it.”

Penny bid farewell to whoever she was talking to, then smiled at Ruby. “You are welcome, Ruby, and please, think nothing of it! Proper closure is absolutely vital for mental and emotional health.”

Ruby nodded as she returned to her recently moved terminal, and resumed the search for Varryn’s replacement.

“… Thanks to filters, bots, and the Codex, it was easy to screen out almost all of the folks who were completely unqualified, or that we didn’t need as badly as a new wilderness expert, but there were still LOT of folks to screen, references to call up, and a couple of extra background checks to do.”

“I’m surprised that there’s actually so many Fae who want in on the Keeper Team,” Weiss said.

“It’s probably because of all the benefits!” Ruby replied. “The regular pay may be crap, and the job is difficult and dangerous, to say the least, but even if you only lasted a single season with us, that’s the same rep and credentials as you would have had if you spent a year—maybe two—only taking some of the highest risk jobs available in the Valley, nearly non-stop.

“And if you managed to help me put down a Soul Eater? Well, provided you could still fight and venture outside the walls after, the Roost and private contractors will pretty much let you set your own fee, among other things.”

“And if you haven’t had that distinction, and can’t continue working as a Watcher?”

“Then there’s hefty benefits you could live off of if you’re not too extravagant about living expenses, let alone the folks that’d loveto employ a former Keeper Team member for the PR points. And if you end up getting killed in action, whoever’s your beneficiaries will be pretty much set for life, and if you don’t have any, you’ll get a fancy, permanent memorial at the Roost—for some, that’s all they really want or need.

“Of course, there aresome folks that are just using it as a stepping stone for their careers—‘High Honour Hopefuls,’ we call them. After all, nothing pleases supporters, and looks damn good on a public service record than helping keep Avalon from getting overrun by near-unstoppable monsters!

“Uncle Qrowreallydoesn’t like it when we get them, though…”

“Fuckinghell,Penny, I thought you said you could screen out every single last one of these suck-ups!” Qrow griped as he angrily pressed the “reject” button, so hard his talon scratched the stone of the terminal underneath.

“I only said ‘Most of them,’ and I’m certain that your chronicle data will be concurrent with my own,” Penny replied coolly. “It’s not any fault of mine that some of them are able to avoid detection relying heavily on word and pattern recognition algorithms.”

“Heh, guess they wouldn’t be Honours if they couldn’t, huh?” Nora said playfully.

Qrow side-eyed her, before shaking his head.

“How many of them have you seen so far, Uncle Qrow?” Ruby asked.

“One, and that’s already one too many…” Qrow grumbled, before he sighed then started to shut down his terminal. “You know what? I’ve had enough of screening hopefuls today, I’m clocking out.”

“Wehave been screening for several hours with just the bare minimum of breaks, it would indeed be wise to end now and resume tomorrow morning, to avoid unnecessary error and impaired judgment due to fatigue,” Penny said.

“Great, now it’s Mender’s orders, too!” Qrow said as he got up and stretched his legs. “Time for dinner—who’s turn was it, again?”

“I think it was Varryn’s, actually!” Ruby said as she and the others began to shut down their terminals, too.

“It was indeed!” Penny said. “So, with him gone, that means it’s Qrow on dinner duty, myself with dishes, and Ruby to attend to Zwei.”

Qrow paused for a moment, before he happy look on his face disappeared. “Ah, shit, you’re right…” he mumbled, before he dejectedly marched into the kitchen, pulling his flask out of his pocket as he did.

“We’ll help,” Ren said, as he and Nora got up, and followed him.

“And just so you know, I am starvingafter all that work, so it’s gonna be a total crumb-pocalypse tonight!” Nora said, chuckling.

“Please remember to pace yourself so you don’t end up with indigestion!” Penny called after them, waving, before she turned to Ruby. “Would you like some assistance with Zwei, Ruby? I was thinking of contacting some more character references before I stop completely myself, but I am willing to provide an extra hand and/or company, should you need or want it.”

“Nah, I’m good!” Ruby said as she pulled her cloak back on her shoulders and turned the hood up. “Besides, I wouldn’t mind some alone time with Zwei, he’s probably been so bored and lonely all day!” she said before she made for the door.

“If that’s what you wish, Ruby!” Penny said. “Don’t hesitate to call if you change your mind!”

“I won’t!” Ruby said, before she stepped out of the house and shut the door behind her, stood on the edge of the rail and yelled, “Zwei! We’re all done for today! We can go play now!”

She smiled as she leaned on the railing, gazing out at the overgrowth down below, waiting for Zwei to rip a new straight line through them in his rush. “Heh, he’ll probably leap all the way to the balcony and take me back down with him,” she thought, smiling.

The smile disappeared when she five minutes later, she didn’t see, hear, nor smell him. “Zwei!” Ruby called out again. “Zwei!Shift’s over today! Uncle Qrow’s already getting dinner! I’ll make sureyou get an extra serving tonight if you get back here within a minute! Counting down: 60… 59… 58…”

She peered out at the swamp, trying to notice anything off, closed her eyes and counted silently, skipped a few as she sniffed and tried to get even the vaguest whiff of Zwei’s powerful, unmistakable smell.

“… 3… 2… 1… 0!” Ruby cried. “Times up, Zwei! Maybe I’ll consider still giving those extra servings to you if you come back right now…!”

The door opened, Penny peered out. “Has Zwei still not returned, Ruby?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s really weird…” Ruby said, still looking out. “He’s never strayed that deep into the swamp without us, hasn’t he?”

“No, based on my own Chronicle, Qrow’s, and the previous chroniclers,” Penny replied.

Ruby turned around, the worry clear on her face. “Do you think he’s okay?”

“Most likely!” Penny said, smiling as she stepped out of the house and towards Ruby. “He’s an incredibly powerful, durable, and intelligent dog! That aside, it’shighlyprobable that he’s found an incredibly comfortable, secluded spot and fell asleep there, and it just so happens that he can’t hear you.

“Shall we go look for him?” she added, putting a hand on Ruby’s shoulder and gesturing out to the swamp.

“Please,” Ruby said, heading to the boat-elevator.

“I will inform the others that we’ll be searching for Zwei, then will join you post-haste,” Penny said.

Soon, the both of them were wandering deep into the swamps surrounding Keeper’s Grove, beams of light shooting out of Penny’s unblinking eyes; her ears slowly rotating around her head like radar dishes; her mouth open and her hands cupped around it, and her tail in Ruby’s hand and leading up to her mouth as she used her like a megaphone.

“Zwei!” Ruby called out, her voice booming and echoing off the trees as they hopped and walked on the giant roots. “Zwei! Where are you?! I’m reallyworried, boy!”

After yet another minute of silence, Ruby whined and let go of Penny’s tail. “He’s not answering or anything!Do you think something bad happened? Should we call the others?!”

“Itis extremely concerning, but I urge you to please remain calm, Ruby,” Penny said as she put her hands off her mouth, shut off the spotlights in her eyes before she faced Ruby. “I’m going to contact them now, so we can get the equipment and the heads for a proper search.”

It was then that something fell from high up above, and noisily plopped into the water, followed by some leaves and branches that had been messily cut apart, likely by accident. Ruby and Penny both looked above, into the thick branches and leaves obscuring whatever was above, before turning to the water where the object had landed.

They shared a look with each other, before Penny reached in, and pulled out a black breakneck, now covered in swamp muck and dripping with water. She reactivated the lights in her eyes, Ruby frowned as she examined the weapon.

“This is Celestian made…” she muttered.

“Indeed,” Penny said, before she contacted the others back at the house. “Sorry to interrupt your dinner, everyone, but it appears that Zwei has found an intruder, possibly still armed and dangerous. Please prepare accordingly, bring the necessary detaining equipment, and alert the Roost.”

Qrow sighed. “And of course it’s right as I sit down and got my plate ready… alright, got your location,got a visual and any info for us?”

“No visual, and two things: there’s a good chance they’re from Celestion, and down a primary weapon,” Ruby said, holding up the breakneck for the others.

“Oooh, a possible assassination attempt!” Nora chimed in, her mouth obviously full of cookies. “Isn’t this exciting, Ren?! I mean, it’s not great obviously, but we get to check this off our milestone list of being with the Keepers!”

“I suppose so, Nora,” Ren said. “ETA 25 minutes—you want us to bring anything else alongside your gear, Ruby?”

“Yeah: dinner to go,” Ruby added. “Something tells me this is going to be a LONG night…”

Note:The Watchers, Seekers, Weavers, Makers, and the rest of the Orders are free to make recommendations for replacements and additions to the Keeper’s team, but aside from the most basic litmus tests, all the screening, interviewing, and hiring is done by the Keepers themselves, usually (but not always) with the help of the current and/or recently retired members.

This is because the Keeper Team has historically had a LOT of questionable hires, who turned out to be incredibly great assets, such as Abner.

Crack!

The spider golem’s last weak point shattered, it frantically, uselessly flailed about before it fell over on its back, legs curling up into itself as it deactivated. Weiss smiled as she ripped her runeblade out from it, held it up into the air as all six of Winter’s summons joined her and posed beside their “kill.”

Winter cheered from her place on the balcony above, Tygan just nodded his head, and switched to the other feeds in front of him.

Thoom!

Sayuri sent the wooden slab rocketing back with a compressed air explosion, before she thrust out the hand her “spitter” was mounted on. The weapon whirred and screamed like a miniature jet engine, a cyclone exploding out and blasting the slab. Her arm wavered slightly, Sayuri braced it against her other wrist, and the slab didn’t move an inch for the rest of the minute.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Goro stood at the pole again with his cannon this time, raining fiery balls of death down on the golems swarming around him, the hapless constructs exploding into smouldering pieces and ash before they could even get close to the barrier.

<Come on! Come on!> he yelled, taking a hand off his cannon to beat his breastplate. <Let ‘em at me, set ‘em allloose, this shit is too fuckin’ easy!>

<We’re not sending any more golems at you until you dial it back!>cried one of the technicians via comm-crystal. <You’re breaking them too badly, we won’t be able to recycle even half of the ones you’ve already busted!>

<Fuck you!> Goro snapped back. <What’s the point of training if you don’t always put your 110% into it?!>

<That’s enough, Aneyama,> Tygan interrupted calmly. <You can get off the pole now, you’ve already got full marks for this test.>

<Tch,> Goro said, shaking his head as he holstered his cannon over his back. <Next time you want me to break out my big guns, bring out the bigger golems, too!>

<I’ll keep it mind,> Tygan said. <For now, get started on your cooldown.>

Goro jumped off the pole and back to the ground, the clean-up crew gave him dirty looks as he passed them by; he just smiled, admiring the smoking ground, smouldering wreckage, and numerous craters left in his wake.

By 9:30PM, all of Tygan’s students were back underneath their tent, in much higher spirits, and with far less injuries or wounds to be treated by Penny, or the others—and even then, they were usually from accidents, overexertion, or bruises and cuts from earlier acting up. Lively conversation abounded, folks bragging about how well they had done on a certain test, complimenting others, and discussing plans for future lessons.

Meanwhile, Tygan was in the corner, sitting on a large root with Penny, reviewing the statistics and the footage, talking with her in hushed tones. Eventually he got up and strolled back into the front of the class, clapping his hands for attention, waiting for the hubbub to die down before he spoke.

<I have to say, everyone: I’m impressed!> he said. <All across the board, you’ve all done spectacularly with this round of evaluative tests, most of you scoring well above the average or better. I can really see why your peers, families, and mentors thought you’d be best off in a special, focused combat class like this!>

Folks cheered this time, beaming and soaking in the praise, giving out high fives and other friendly gestures..

<And on that same note, I now know exactlywhy you’re all still going to be Initiates for a long time yet!> Tygan said cheerfully, before his eyes opened, his mouth curled into a scowl, and his voice became deathly serious. <Because without your foci, almost all of you suck, and suck hard.>

All the smiles were suddenly wiped off faces, the students looked at Tygan in a mix of confusion or indignation.

<Adept and Master Weavers uses their foci as an extension of their body and power, notas a crutchnorcompensationfor their failings and lack. Your weapons and tools are supposed to amplifyyour natural capabilities to greater heights and allow you to take on incredible challenges, notensure that you can reliably pass the most basic batteries of evaluative tests!

<I get it: you are Watchers, you are Pit fighters, you are Makers. You live and die by the quality of your tools, by the skill with which you wield them, and by the echoes they have gained under you, and whoever else may have used them before. But you are all also Weavers, and there is no putting away, no unloading, no blunting the most dangerous weapons you have:

<Yourselves.>

Tygan closed his eyes again, his frown turning into a neutral line, his voice flat as he said, <In time, you all have the potential to become truly great, ready to fight, defend, and change this realm, for fame or infamy… but before all that, you must learn to control that power, withorwithoutthe help of your foci.

<Remember this: the Primals are not in their positions because they can unleash power like the most devastating storms and phenomenon in nature; they are there because they know when to stay their wrath, when and how much of a percentage of their power to use, and when to unleash fury like Avalon herself.

<And with that: you are all dismissed! I will inform you all within two days time when our next session will be, and if you have any other inquiries, please send me a message via my public line, and I will get back to you tomorrow morning by 8AM at the very latest.>

Tygan bowed, the class stood up and did the same, before he turned around and left, gracefully launching himself up into the tree tops, before hopping from branch to branch, leaving a stunned, silent, and scowling class in his wake.

<Well, shit got heavy real fast—who’s up for drinks?!> someone cried. <Last one not under the table gets a free pass on the bill!>

<You’re on!> Goro said, grinning as he stepped up to them.

They blanched immediately. <Hell no, Goro! Not you! You stay away from this, I likemy regular!>

<Well maybe you should have thought of that before you sent an open invite to everyone, ah?!> Goro snapped, hunching his shoulders.

Winter shook her head, wrapping a shoulder around Weiss and coaxing her away from the rapidly heating up argument.

Penny floated up to them and asked, “Would either of you like to join your classmates for dinner, or their other recreational activities? It would be an excellentopportunity to strengthen bonds and make potentially helpful connections in the future.”

Weiss yawned, and shook her head. “Maybe some other day…” she mumbled. “I am soready to be completely, absolutely done with today…”

“Winter?” Penny asked.

“I think Weiss needs me more than I need to start making a new professional network,” Winter replied, patting Weiss on her arm. “On a related note: you think you can make it all the way back home like this, little sister?”

“So long as we can take the teleporter back…” Weiss mumbled, before she yawned again. “I want to walk as little as possible from here on out…”

“I’m afraid the teleportation functionality is severely limited for the moment, due to the repairs in the Water Quadrant diverting majority of the resources and mana of the Terrace,” Penny said.

Weiss groaned. “Great…”

“Guess we’re just going to have to do this the old fashioned way,” Winter said, shrugging before she knelt down to the ground.

Weiss stared at her in disbelief. “Are you seriouslygoing to give me a piggyback ride back home?”

“Are you going to refuse?” Winter replied calmly.

“No.” Weiss said, fixing up the contents of her belt, before wrapping her arms around Winter’s shoulders.

“Huh, this is strange…” Winter said as she grabbed Weiss’ legs and stood up.

“What is…?” Weiss mumbled as she nestled her head on her shoulder.

“It’s been a decade and a half since I last did this, and it’s still just as easy as it was then!” Winter hummed. “It’s like you’ve barelygrown at all, little sister.”

Weiss scowled. “Oh, screw you…” she mumbled, before she quickly fell asleep, smiling.

A little over an hour later, Weiss was standing alone on the balcony of her and Winter’s home, dressed in her nightgown with one of her jackets thrown over it, leaning on the railing with a cup of black moss tea in hand.

She wasn’t doing much but sip and maybe gaze around for interesting sights in the Grove, until her comm-crystal beeped, with a message from Ruby: “On nightwatch. Super bored. Want to talk for a while?”

Weiss smiled, and replied, “Text or talk?”

“Talk. I need to keep my hands free for my farsighter.”

Weiss took a sip from her tea, and established a connection; soon enough, the holo in front of her showed Ruby standing on the edge of a rail, her hood up and her cloak tied tight around her. “Hey Weiss!” she said, waving and smiling at her, before she put a telescope-like device to her eye.

“Good evening, Ruby,” Weiss said, nodding. “Sure you’re not going to get in trouble for this?”

“Nope!” Ruby said, still looking through her farsighter. “I’m really only supposed to be a fail-safe, Iaros is the one we expect to catch anything suspicious out here.”

“Who’s Iaros?”

Ruby spared a hand to move her holo around, Weiss saw a rather large, hawk-like creature, jet black eyes, a sharp-hooked beak, prominent talons, and bright, fiery feathers. She shuddered, and said, “Yeesh, security crystals not intimidating enough for you Fae, huh?”

“Nope!” Ruby said, turning the holo back to herself. “It really helps with keeping wild animals from trying to sneak onto our convoys and into the supplies, having an apex predator keep guard. Though, he’s mostly just been eating domesticated meat and treats, since we still have plenty of animal repellents, there’s still a lot of us traveling together, and we’re not in the reallywild zones yet.

“Anyway, enough about me: what’s up on your end? Penny hasn’t updated me on today yet, and I won’t really have the time to catch up for a while, anyway.”

Weiss sighed. “Just the usual, with life and the universe screwing with me… I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Is it because it hurts to talk about it, or because you don’t want to bog me down with your baggage?” Ruby asked. “Because if it’s the second, I’m 100% open to hearing you out and lightening your load.”

“Are you sure about that?” Weiss asked. “It’s going to be about an hour, hour and a half worth of griping.”

Ruby chuckled. “I’m sure—that is what girlfriends do, right?”

Weiss blushed and looked away. “Well, if you’re so willing…” she muttered, before she gave her an abbreviated account of the day’s events, up until Winter’s giving her a piggyback ride back home.

“Wow,” Ruby said. “Pretty much just all action, combat, and the Pits since you woke up this morning, huh? You sure you should still be up and talking to me, instead of getting some sleep?”

“I should be, but I can’t right now,” Weiss replied. “We were starvingby the time we got back, and myself and Winter proceeded to quite literally stuff our faces with as much food as we could fit in our mouths. By the time mystomach finally sent the signal that it was time to stop, it was already way too late, so here I am now, standing out at our balcony, sipping coffee while I wait till it’s safe for me to lie down again.”

She sighed. “I’m really worried that this might be my new normal, when it comes to food.”

“Why?” Ruby asked. “I mean, I’m pretty sure you and dad are growing enough to feed all even without allowance from the Council, and Qrow, Blake, and Ren are able to hunt enough for everyone on the reg.”

“It’s not how we’re going to get food that worries me, Ruby, it’s where all of it’s inevitably going to go,” Weiss grumbled, looking down at herself. “Penny assures me that most of it is going to end up metabolized and turned into mana, and that I can burn off the rest of the calories pretty quickly with spellcasting, but I’m concerned at just how much of both is going to happen while I still have this collar on,” she said, touching it.

“I might have to buy a new wardrobe for the meanwhile, and I’ve got this sinking feeling that Blake might have to permanently modify all my old clothes by the time this comes off!”

“I won’t mind if you gain some extra weight, Weiss,” Ruby said.

Weiss scowled. “Well Ido, and I know your intentions are good, but I’d rather not hear that from you, especiallybecauseyourgenetics lets you eat cookies on a daily basis, and still keepyour rock-hard, six-pack abs.”

She sighed heavily. “Anyway… how are things on your end?”

“Eh, pretty boring and tedious, actually,” Ruby said.  “Lack of action aside, I miss you, and everyone else, too. This is actually the first time I’ve ever had an expedition where it’s just me that went, no close friends nor family.

“I mean—I’ve always accepted that there’s going to come a time where they might not be around, especially with how dangerous our jobs are, but when it actually happens… it’s never as easy as how you imagined it to be, you know…?”

“Do you want to talk about it, too…?” Weiss asked.

“Yeah but, I don’t really know where to start!” Ruby replied. “Kinda always relied on Penny for these things, seeing as it’s her job and all.”

“Maybe you could try one of your more memorable expeditions with them?” Weiss asked. “Or maybe your first trips together? Knowing you, there haveto be some interesting stories there.”

Ruby paused, then nodded. “Huh… now that you mention it, Blake didstart working with us because one of our old Keeper Team watchers quit on us, right on the eve of an important extended trip! How well she did then was how she became a permanent of the team now, actually.”

“Then would you mind telling me all about it?” Weiss said, smiling.

“Sure thing!” Ruby said, smiling and nodding. “It all started about a year ago…”

Note: Since some of you have been politely asking me to show Ruby doing her Keeper duties, y'all are getting a flashback series of chapters.

A farsighter is not just a simple telescope, it also automatically “tags” points of interest and living beings, and with relatively modern developments, have been used to sync up the data to comm-crystals and improve information in the wilderness and the battlefield.

Weavers have VASTLY increased caloric needs than other Fae. Aside from mana water, many watcher-weavers are equipped with energy drinks made with it as a base in case of emergency, extra watcher chocolate bars and similar treats, and receive the lion’s share of food and hunts.

Few mind, as they can perform tasks by themselves that would take scores more of non-weavers to do, and not nearly as efficiently.

In case of emergency or times of scarcity, large amounts of sugar, be it lactose, sucrose, or fructose, can be used to refuel weavers instead of mana water. It’s not nearly as effective nor efficient, but if the situation requires you to desperately shovel table sugar down into your mouth before washing it all down with a fruit milkshake, most weavers don’t really care.

Not all weavers have sweet teeth, and a good chunk of them abhor the taste of mana water, which is generally sweet with additional flavours and undertones that are difficult to describe in Nivian, or translated Actaeon. There are actually some famous Primals, Masters, and notable Adepts who have gone to great lengths to avoid using it, try to make them more palatable to their taste, or both, to the point of inventing entirely new classes and types of beverages and alchemical products over the course of their research.

This is actually how the famous “Fireki’s Fizzy Fun” series of drinks was invented, when the creator Weaver Fireki Venquen tried and failed miserably to make viable variations of pure mana water, and proceeded to sell the prototypes to fund future research. She became ABSURDLY rich from it, but unfortunately never did manage to find those mythical formulas she was looking for, before she died.

Note: Sorry for late update, life and such.

<DIE! DIE! DIE, DAMN IT!> Goro shouted as he stood on top of a wooden pole, blasting at the hordes of foot-large, bird-like golems swarming around him, pecking at or gleefully hurling themselves at the barrier emanating from the pole’s runes.

Crash!

One section burst open, the elementals rushed in like air into a vacuum. Goro roared as he blasted the invaders with a massive jet of flame, nigh-instantly incinerating the ones who’d gotten in, the fire quickly spreading among the rest of the horde.

<HAHA,FUCK OFF!> Goro yelled, grinning as he threw an explosive fireball at them, blasting a good chunk of them into little pieces of burnt wood and singed plant matter… and dramatically widening the breach in the shield, too.

The smile on his face disappeared as the golems charged back in, stronger than ever, pecking at and ramming into the beams keeping the pole up. Goro frantically shot at them with laser beams, but the pole was already starting to rock back and forth.

<MO-THER-FUCKERRR…!> Goro howled as it finally tipped over.

Beneath him, the hordes spread out and made room, before waiting for him with wide-open beaks…

Whoosh!

Sayuri blasted a thick slab of wood with a cyclone from her hands! It flew backwards on its track, until it stopped, and slowly started to move towards her. Sayuri kept on blasting it, eyes occasionally glancing at the one minute timer on the side; by 37 seconds, her arms started to shake from strain, sweat started to pour down her skin, and the slab inched ever faster.

Sayuri yelped and thrust her arms out further, the vortex cyclone growing stronger, larger, and more chaotic, but the slab just kept on going…

SLAM!

A “spider” golem stomped one of its legs into the grass, Weiss just barely jumped out of the way, landing prone on the ground. It lifted it up and prepared to strike again, Tiki, Wala, Nunu, and Mei-Mei swooped in and took her away to safety, the rest of Winter’s summons rushing in and formed a wall between them and the golem.

From her position on a balcony high above the arena, Winter smiled as she watched the Tetra-Tropica set Weiss safely back down on her feet, before a loud splash and agonized whinny wiped it right off her face. “Bubblegum’s down!” she shouted into her comm-crystal. “Tetra-Tropica, run interference! Weiss, get ready ASAP, we can’t afford another casualty!”

“I know!” Weiss shouted back hoarsely, before she ripped off a mana water bottle from her belt, shoved it under her mask and into her lips, and tilted her head back.

She spluttered, gagging at the taste and the sensation of so much mana surging down her throat for who-knew-what-time this fight alone, but she choked it down, threw the bottle away as her hands glowed bright blue once more.

“Ready?”Winter asked.

“Ready!”Weiss shouted back.

Winter started barking new orders, her four summons and Weiss pulled back, surrounding the golem on all sides. The “eyes” all over its body watched them warily, guarded the one remaining weak spot on its underside. Tension filled the air as the Schnees and their summons started to glow and focus their power, the lines of mana in their bodies surging and roiling.

“NOW!”

Armin the Armadillo curled up into a ball and dashed forward, slamming into the golem full-force like a wave! Two of its legs went airborne, Tetra-Tropica grabbed them and kept them up, the other summons striking the golem again, or biting down on its other two legs before freezing themselves in place. The spider violently struggled and kicked, its eyes frantically darting around as its weak point was completely exposed.

Weiss screamed as she dashed forward, launched herself into up into the air with a pillar of ice, bringing her hands together and turning them into a sharp icicle!

Crack!

The spider broke free, and didn’t hesitate to bring its legs down on Weiss, swatting her into a new crater in the ground.

Tygan winced and frowned as he watched via holo, before turning his attention to other the live-feeds, watching Goro nurse and fix numerous beak-shaped bite wounds on his body and armour; technicians pulling Sayuri out from the two wooden blocks she was sandwiched between; and the progress in all the other training exercises he was currently putting his students through.

A call request popped up beside him, he glanced at the ID, before answering it. <Is there an emergency, Mender?> he asked.

<No, nothing of the sort, Weaver,> Penny replied. <It’s just that I’ve noticed that all of your students seem to be consistently sustaining numerousinjuries over the course of their exercises, emotional distress aside. I do not mean to question your authority nor your qualifications, Weaver Tygan, but perhaps the intensity and danger levels could be lowered…?>

Tygan thought it over for a moment, before shook his head, and replied, <No, I don’t think so, Mender. Besides, this is combat training!> His eyes opened up to reveal gleaming topaz eyes. <What’s the pointif someone doesn’t get hurt?>

<Fair enough, Weaver,> Penny said politely. <Thank you for listening to my request.>

<Any time, Mender!> Tygan said, before he disconnected, and went back to watching the holos.

By 6 PM, everyone was back underneath their tent, having walked, limped, or been carried there by their fellows or elementals. All of them were filthy with sweat, small bloodstains, grass-stains, tree sap, mud, and/or magical residue; sitting slumped, leaning against someone else or a tree, or just laid out on the ground; and with quite a few half-naked to put ice packs, hot towels, or medicine on themselves or others.

Tygan was standing up front like before, his hands behind his back as he gazed out at all of them. <Well, this has been an exciting, enlightening, and entertaining first day, hasn’t it?>

Groans and complaints rose up from the class, a few of them threw out half-hearted elemental shots again; Tygan didn’t even have to move as they all fizzled or burned up well before they could even reach him.

<Rest assured, things will be getting muchmore fun in the coming meetings!> Tygan continued. <All of your exercises today are just evaluative tests, meant for me to see if you’re all really everything your original instructors said you were, find out where you excel, and more importantly, where you lack! I can assure you that as early as our next meeting in four-five days, you’ll all start enjoying specially tailored exercises and sets, according to your specific needs.

<However, since I’m still only the one instructor, and the whole Terrace will be sharing space and equipment while the Water Quadrant’s closed, there’ll still be the usual team exercises and group activities where I expect all of you to take your educations into your hands, or hand-equivalents.

<So, try and get to know your classmates, especially over this long break!> Tygan said throwing his hands out and smiling brightly. <Aside from the fact that you’ll probably be working with or leading them in group exercises soon, you never know when they might be the key to your graduating from this class!

<See you all again in an hour, everyone~> he hummed, before he waved goodbye and left.

Groans and sighs of relief filled the air as most of the class got up, either heading to the nearest communal dining area, or some other place to spend their long break. The Schnees joined the former crowd, with Penny on Weiss’ back once more, a power cable attached to her and running into the bucket full of mana water Winter’s summons were soaking in.

<Cripes, this sure as shit is one way to get students to want to graduate ASAP…> someone mumbled.

<Is it just me, or does anyone miss when class involved a whole lot of reading assignments and talking?> someone else asked.

<It’s just you,> a third said. <Guh, Teach being a fucking sadist or no, I’d still take a guaranteed8 hours of straight action, two days a week.>

A murmur of agreement came from most of the class.

<Anyway, anyone want to join forces? I’ve got ideas on how to get a scratch on Weaver Tygan, but I’m gonna need help doing it.>

Weiss watched as a couple of Fae took up the offer, and the rest started to form their own groups and chat. With Penny charging, so many conversations going on all at once, and how drained she was from the exercises, it was all but impossible for her to make heads or tails of what anyone was saying, let alone try to find some way to gracefully enter the conversation.

“Do you think it’s just going to come down to the two of us to pass Weaver Tygan’s test?” Weiss asked.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Winter replied. “In my experience, a language barrier certainly makes interaction and cooperation difficult, but not impossible, so I’m sure we’ll both find allies here in time.”

Weiss nodded. “Here’s to hoping,” she said.

However much of a problem the emergency relocation and crowding was in many respects, there seemed to be at least one unquestionably positive side to it: luxurious, diverse, and generousspreads at the public buffets.

<Take your pick, take your pick, I guarantee you we’ve got something for everyone!> cried a weaver standing on a post above the long tables of food and drinks, helping control the masses of hungry Fae in need of a high-calorie snack, or an early dinner. <Oi, oi, oi!> she cried, shining a spotlight with her claw, the fins on her head flaring up. <This is the thirdtime I’ve seen you four back there, give someone else a chance to get some, why don’t you?>

If everyone had to grab their own individual servings, the one hour or so they all had for break wouldn’t have been nearly enough, but it seemed that almost everyone was grabbing baskets and trays to bring back to their seated companions, asking to join groups with free space and food, or were explicitly invited in by friends and strangers alike.

Weiss and Winter stood just outside of the sea of Fae, debating whether they should attempt to join the crowds coming in, or just ask around with the many groups already seated.

<Yo, Weiss, Winter!> a familiar voice shouted over the crowds. <Over here! We got room and food, if you want it!>

Weiss looked, try to peer into the crowds, before sighing and turning to Winter. “It’s Nami,” she said, pointing. “Should we join her?”

“So long as we both agree not to drink anything she offers us,” Weiss said.

Winter nodded, and lead her through the crowds, to a section among where the magitech and projects being tinkered on seemed to outnumber the folks and the trays of food.

<Sup, Raindrop, Big Raindrop!> Nami said as she stood on top of Cheska’s shoulders, waving with one hand as her other rested on top of Cheska’s head.

Calmly munching on her seaweed wrap, Cheska raised a hand and waved also.

<Hello, Nami, Cheska!> Weiss said as she and Winter found free spaces and sat down. <Thank you for inviting us.>

<No problem! We’re all water weavers here, we should always be coming together.> Nami said as she climbed off Cheska’s shoulders, and back to the spot next to her. <Now come on, eat, eat! You both must be right-ready to chew on the barrels after your Cap’n sanded you down to the grain.>

<Saywhatnow?> Weiss asked as she started building her own seaweed wrap.

Cheska took a hand of her wrap, projected a holo, and typed, “She said, ‘You both must be starving after how hard your teacher worked you earlier.’”

“What is this, slang?”Winter asked.

“Nomadic Celestian Fae, yes,” Cheska replied. “Just so you know, if I’m not around, Bee’s just as able to translate.”

Weiss nodded as she looked around. “Where is she, anyway?”

“Networking,” Cheska replied, before turning the holo to Nami and translating for her.

Nami suddenly started giggling.

<What’s so funny?> Weiss asked as she and Winter brought their wraps to their mouths.

<Oh, just that ‘Networking’ is a pretty funny way to call Bee’s trying to get some motion in her ocean,> Nami said, bursting into renewed giggles.

Cheska groaned loudly and shook her head, Weiss and Winter turned to her, curious. “Should we ask…?” Winter asked.

“NO.” Cheska typed.

Winter and Weiss nodded, and returned to their food.

<So! Enough talk about who is and who isn’t around, how’s the water been your stretch of this sea on this voyage?> Nami asked, before she took a sip out of her cup of tea.

“She asked ‘How’s your day been so far?’” Cheska typed, before taking a bite out of her wrap.

Weiss groaned. She chewed through her mouthful and replied, <To be honest, I don’t want to talk about it…>

<And to be honest, I want to hear allabout it!> Nami said, her eyes brightening. <Shit hasn’t been this interesting in our class ever since the twins came along!>

“We could help offer some solutions and tips, too,” Cheska added, nodding. “I mean, at the very least, we’ve been in training longer than both of you, and are more familiar with how it works.”

“She has a very good point,” Winter said.

Weiss sighed. “Fine,” she said, before with Cheska’s help translating back and forth, she and Winter told them about their hellish training earlier that day.

<Huh!> Nami said by the end of it. <Seems like you two need plenty of hands on deck, if you want to make it back to port!>

“She said, ‘I feel like you two really need help from others, if you’re ever going to graduate.’”

<We are planning to use more of our off-hours to learning Actaeon, actually, and try to make some allies while they’re still around,> Winter replied.

<Yeah, a solid crew’s all well and good, Big Raindrop, but you’re gonna need so much more than that!> Nami said, patting her potion satchel nearby. <You all good on supplies? Pretty sure you’re going to need at least plenty of sore-stiff ointment, when the tide rolls back in.>

“That last part meant, ‘When the consequences of training finally come around, full-force.’”

<I’ve already got plenty in stock, thanks, and can make more myself,> Weiss said.

<Yeah, but what if you mess up and it ends up turning into an elemental again?> Nami asked playfully. <Best to be sure and have a professional do it for you, eh, Raindrop?>

Weiss scowled. <That was an ACCIDENT, before we realized I had powers to begin with!> she snapped.

Cheska waved put down her wrap and waved her hand in front of Weiss, her other hurriedly typing “I think what she’s TRYING to imply is that she reallywants to use your lab back at Keeper’s Grove.”

Weiss blinked, and relaxed. <You want to use my lab?>

<Aye,> Nami said, before she turned to Cheska, and said, <Did you really have to raise my roger? Asking straight up isn’t as fun.>

<Do you think risking getting smacked for accidentally offending someone is ‘fun?’> Cheska typed back.

<Uh, aye…?> Nami replied, confused.

Cheska just groaned and shook her head again.

Nami turned back to Weiss. <Anywho: can I do a deep dive at your brewer’s over short-shore leave? Heard it’s sweet as.>

“She said ‘Can I use your lab over for a few days? I hear it’s very impressive.’”

Weiss spent a few minutes trying to formulate a response in her head, before she turned to Cheska and said, “Can you please tell her, ‘No offense to you, Nami, but I don’t trust you well enough with my stuff to let you use it, especially in a place as prone to accidents and unexpected catastrophe’s as Keeper’s Grove.’?”

Cheska did, and afterwards, Nami said, <Eh, suit yourself, Raindrop! Just know that if the winds shift, you’ve got my deets!>

“She said, ‘If you ever change your mind or your circumstances change, you know how to contact her.”

<I’ll keep it in mind,> Weiss said. <So, how’s your training been?>

Cheska and Nami shared their experience volunteering their talent and magic to the reconstruction effort, and the equipment and supplies being used by all the temporary laboratories, classes, and training areas, until a bell rang, and several birds in the area started cawing, <15 minutes! 15 minutes till the hour!>

<Welp, time to raise anchor and set sail, Raindrop!> Nami said as she shotgunned the last of her glass of tea, before she got up on her and slung her bag over her shoulder. <Till the tides bring us together again!> she said as she left.

“She says ‘It’s time to go, see you next time,’” Cheska said as she got up herself, turned off her holo.

<See you two, thanks again for the seats and the food,> Weiss said. “Oh, and Cheska?”

“Hmm?” Cheska went, looking at them pointedly.

“What does <Raindrop> and <Big Raindrop> mean and why does Nami keep using it?” Weiss asked.

“I’ve been quite curious as well,” Winter added.

Cheska smiled, and started typing, “<Raindrop> is a slang term for water weavers who are weak and new, and aren’t much more dangerous or useful than an actual, single raindrop. <Big Raindrop> means they’re older than usual. Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll start calling you the better nicknames soon enough,” she said, smiling as she off her holo, and waved goodbye.

Weiss and Winter waved back, before they rinsed off their hands, picked up Penny and the bucket. “Ready for the second half of our training from hell?” Winter asked as they walked.

Weiss sighed, and raised her fist, a small smile on her face. “Let’s do it.”

Note:“Chew on the barrels” came from starving Fae sailors so desperate for food that they would lick, or even chew on the wooden barrels that their food was stored in for any last trace of nutrition, or alternatively, as a last resort for fiber and cellulose.

“Sanded down to the grain” came from the Fae practice of painting on and growing numerous protective and beautifying substances and organisms on the hulls of their ships, to serve as added protection against the elements, or to help sustain the on-board systems. As you might expect, these layers were meant to last as long as the ship was seaworthy, and removing them right down to the wooden base beneath would take plenty of skill, specialized equipment, and a WHOLE lot of time.

Depending on the context, it can be used to imply being overworked or overworking someone, that a task is incredibly boring and laborious, or that something isn’t worth the effort and time required.

“Raise the Roger” was derived from Old World humans practice, of broadcasting a false ID signal that gave you cover as a civilian ship, until you either got close enough for the ruse to be found out, or you intentionally identified yourself as a pirate. Even further back, it was based on the “Jolly Rogers” of pirates during the age of wooden galleons and sea travel, long before space travel was even plausible let alone possible.

“Get some motion in (your/their) ocean” means looking for sex or romance, generally in your off-duty hours. While it can refer to serious, committed relationships as much as casual, short term flings, it’s more often used in the latter context. No guesses as to why it’s phrased that way.

A “deep dive” is long and oftentimes hard work, generally uninterrupted over the course of several hours or even days. It can also be used to refer to bingeing on something, or used sarcastically to imply that someone hasn’t read up or learned as much as they should have, i.e. “Aye, I bet you dove real deep into the manual, didn’t ye?”

“Brewer’s” refers to alchemical labs, which the Nomadic Celestian Fae frequently use to brew alcohol for pleasure, business, or both. Given the enchanted nature of many of their drinks, “Liquid Courage” can just as easily mean someone downing an alcoholic drink that grants them immense power, as someone who’s drunk and doing an incredibly stupid, dangerous act that they would not sober.

“Short-Shore Leave” is a few day’s break, the weekend, or a brief lull in an otherwise eventful and oftentimes unpleasant week, month, or even year. It does not have to actually refer to a physical location that the folks stop and rest at, but it’s also oftentimes used alongside slang for nooks and crannies of the ship used for unofficial recreation.

“Sweet as” never has an object at the end. “That ship is sweet as.” is considered a complete sentence.

“Deets” is short for “details.”

Bee actually IS out networking. It just so happens that some of them end up in her professional contacts, and others end up in her more private lists, whom she has no qualms asking out on dates or having sex with.

Appropriately enough for an air weaver, Sayuri’s fury was like a raging storm, electricity violently discharging and sparking from her fur and her claws as she shouted at such a high volume and speed, it looked like even someone as normally calm, collected, and professional as Bee was quickly looking overwhelmed.

She quickly shot Weiss a look and gestured for her to back off, a stray jolt of electricity giving her some extra encouragement. Sayuri was still going as Bee tapped her staff on the ground, and a bubble formed around them, dulling the sound of her rage significantly, her ever intensifying discharges exploding, crackling, and fading all over the inner surface.

Penny’s eyes suddenly brightened up, the pieces of her tail rapidly floating off of Weiss’ shoulders as she shot up into the air. She quickly spun around once, before slowing down and stopping at Sayuri and Bee.

“Identity, and source of your elevated stress levels both confirmed,” Penny said as she hovered down by Weiss’ head. “Are you alright, Weiss?”

Weiss nodded slowly. “Yeah, yeah I’m good… should we… should we step in or something?” she asked, watching as Bee seemed to be trying to talk to Sayuri, keeping the warm, friendly expression on her face even as Sayuri was still seething, violently discharging electricity everywhere.

“Definitely not,” Penny said firmly. “If your mere presence alone could incite this level of extreme, violent emotions in Sayuri, you’re best off avoiding her, especially if you don’t have a mediating figure such as Bee, or alternatively, some cause or crisis that will cause her to temporarily put her personal grudge aside.

“I advise you and I both leave until Sayuri calms down completely. In line with that, I’m detecting Winter’s comm-crystal signal nearby; would you like to go to her?”

Weiss nodded, and the two of them made a discrete exit, pushing back into the crowds once more.

They came out of the crush and to a mana water fountain, which seemed to be built out of a still living tree. Winter was loitering by a small pool near the roots, her summons’s soul stones deep inside the water. “Did something happen?” she asked as they came up.

“Just the usual,” Weiss muttered, before Penny perched herself on a nearby branch, and replayed the earlier events.

“Seriously?!” Winter asked. “I could understand her coming for you specifically from the whole team name business, but what are the odds, even, that she’d join up in the same class as Weiss, just in time to save it from being dissolved…?!”

“I’m afraid I don’t have enough information nor similar events on record to make an estimate, let alone an accurate one,” Penny replied. “That aside—and full disclosure, this is speaking purely through basic pattern recognition without any further experimentation, research, or theory testing on my or anyone else’s part—the most extremelyimprobable events just seem to keep consistently happening to Weiss specifically, against most laws of probability, so long as it inconveniences, threatens, or harms her in some way, shape, or form.”

“Seems Grandpa really WAS onto something when he talked about our family probably being cursed…” Weiss muttered, before she sighed heavily, and leaned into Winter’s side. “I’m really glad you’re here with me now, Winter, and staying for the long-term; it makes me feel more confident about whatever impending shit storm I’ll be facing, knowing you’re back here with me.”

“Think nothing of it,” Winter said, wrapping her arm around Weiss’ side. “I’ve got about a decade’s worth of big sister-ing to catch up to, anyway.”

“Excuse me, don’t mean to interrupt your sisterly bonding moment, but I feel I should really talk to you three before you get to class,” Bee said as she stepped up.

Weiss turned to her and looked around warily. “Where’s Sayuri?” she asked.

“She’s already on her way to class, and I’m happy to report, I managed to talk her down without incident,” Bee said, smiling, before her expression turned serious. “And speaking of Sayuri: I really have to please ask you that you don’t let her be a deal breaker; it took a LOT of time and effort to shift about and reschedule your eight other classmates from your original arrangements, and it’s a serious decision for any teacher to let go of their students to a special class like this, however short-term.

“A lot of the latter are working towards their Master’s Rites, and often are doing this as their full-time jobs; one less student under their tutelage could mean the difference between getting the opportunity to even be consideredfor the Rites within the next couple of years, or a serious blow to their income.

“Not to mention, if you back out of this now, it’ll be a lot harder for you to argue for special considerations and classes in the future…”

“Alright, alright, I get it! I won’t quit because of Sayuri, you can stop now,” Weiss said, before she shook her head. “Piper, are all you teachers this fond of guilt-tripping?”

“We Fae prefer to think of it more as, ‘politely reminding you of the consequences your actions can have on others,’” Penny chimed in, before she and Bee chuckled.

Weiss scowled, unamused.

“Anyway, you should probably be getting to class now, and meeting your teacher for today,” Bee said. “Most of them tend to be extremely lenient on the first day, but others are pretty strict about punctuality.”

Weiss nodded. “Do you happen to know anything about who they are?”

Bee shrugged. “I’m sorry, I was too busy with the begging and looking for recruits for the class in the first place. I do know that they’re going to be a representative of Primal Wenua, but there’s several of them that could fit the bill.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I really need to go, too.”

“Don’t let us keep you, Bee,” Weiss said. “Thanks for all the help.”

“Any time!” she said, before she hurried on over to a nearby “skyway,” launched herself up into the air via a sudden gust of wind.

“You ready to go, sis?” Weiss asked.

“Of course,” Winter said, smiling before she held her hand out over the basin. “Everyone out of the water!” she said.

There was disgruntled burbling and bubbling coming up from beneath the surface, before five of the six soul stones shot out of the water, arcing into Winter’s palm. She glared at the sixth. “You don’t get special treatment because you’re my main summon, Idun.”

Splash!

Idun joined the others, Winter smiled as she picked her up and slotted her back into her belt. “Good girl.”

With Penny having already calculated the most efficient route, the Schnee sisters followed her to their destination.

Their class was being held at the ground level, at a tent city set up at a long, flat, open field that Penny explained was for a Fae sport, “Huracan.” Other classes, work, and training sessions had already clearly begun, the sounds of shouting, exercising, casting, fighting, chanting, and swearing flooding the air, the Schnees and Penny having to maneuver very carefully through the too thin walkways allotted between tents and sectioned-off areas.

If it was any small comfort, the numerous shields put up everywhere were doing a damn fine job at keeping any potential disasters and mishaps contained.

Boom!

Weiss winced as pieces of a rock target smashed and disintegrated on the translucent barrier just beside her.

<Sorry!>called the air weaver who’d blasted it to pieces.

Weiss shook her head, and they turned a corner down a line of tents.

Fwoosh!

Winter instinctively pulled Weiss to her chest and wrapped her arms around her as a giant jet of fire erupted not inches away from them, the flames licking and raging violently, fighting against a flashing barrier.

Idun flew off from her belt, “fur” bristling and magic lines roiling as she eyed the flames.

<We’ve got it under control, it’s fine!> a fire weaver yelled. <Just keep going!>

Winter and Weiss looked unconvinced, they carefully inched forward, Idun reluctantly jumping back onto Winter’s belt.

WHAM!

The sisters and Penny all jumped as a massive, bulky weaver slammed into the side of a shield, all his limbs splayed out, his face squished up against the enchanted wall as if it were made of glass. He peeled off of it, and collapsed onto a heap on the ground below.

<Are you alright, Weaver?> Winter asked.

He raised a claw, and made a thumbs up. <Mmm a’right!> he said as he picked himself up, and walked back to his fellows

Winter shook her head as they started walking again. “Piper, it’s like I’m right back in the Applied Sciences department at R&D…” she muttered.

“What was it like down there, anyway?” Weiss asked.

Winter sighed, and said, “Let’s just say the Queensguard’s emphasis on ‘you only need to be functional, talented, and capable of taking orders’ was never more obvious than it was down there…”

Eventually, they made it to the opposite end of the field, where most of the space had been converted into a running track, exercise equipment and machines spread out, with a handful of dueling pits in the center, most of them small enough only for 2-3 Fae to fight comfortably. Already, almost all of them were in use, weavers heaving and puffing, sweat pouring down their bodies as the lines of magic on their skin gradually pulsed harder and brighter.

<Heh, about time you three got here…> said a male Fae as he walked up to them.

He was a gazelle Fae, looking to be in his mid-twenties, neatly cut and dramatically shortened horns on his head, what little hair he had tied in a single braid that ran down the back of his head, a pleasant smile on his face and the squint of his eyes so pronounced it was almost like they were constantly closed.

<My name is Rokuro Tygan, one of Primal Wenua’s personal students!> he said opening his arms out wide in welcome, before offering them to Weiss and Winter both. <No need for introductions from either of you, we all know who the both of you are—hard not to, really.>

<It is a pleasure to meet you, Weaver, thank you for taking me under your tutelage,> Weiss said politely, before they each took a hand and shook.

His grip was incredibly strong and firm, the muscles of his bare, lean, and chiseled arms already tightening from just that motion alone. Weiss quietly wondered how the bejeweled metal bands running up from his wrist onward didn’t snap or seem to bend.

<And I have to thank you, for the honour of training the Keeper’s Mate, and her kin, at that,>  Tygan said as he took his hands back, and clasped them. <Come, come, we’ve all just been waiting for you before we start—and before you get any ideas, this is the first and last special privilege any of us will be affording you for your status.>

<That’s just fine with us, Weaver Tygan,> Weiss said.

Tygan lead them to one of the few tents in the area, where Sayuri and seven other weavers were sitting around on the benches, tree branches, and rocks, waiting. They all seemed to be teenagers, just entering puberty, or already looking like young adults who’d clearly been through some shit. Temperaments ranged from meek and nervous, tensed up and warily eyeing the others, to bold and restless, clearly itching for the fighting to start already, or debating starting something themselves.

About the only thing that seemed to unite them all was that all of their gear had been clearly modified for combat, reinforced with armour plating; had slings, belts, and packs for extra weapons and/or ammo; or even decorated with the remains of their past kills, bones especially.

Weiss and Winter found a free spot together, Penny readied herself for a live translation as Tygan stepped up in front of all of them. He scanned the faces in front of him, took in a deep breath, and calmly said, <I will be completely honest: I really want to see all of your faces gone from this class as soon as possible.>

Many in the class clearly did not appreciate that, and didn’t hesitate to make it known, through scowls, disappointed sighs, and the odd minor spell thrown at him. Tygan stood in the center of it all, casually dodging or blowing away any projectiles, still smiling.

<This is because as long as you’re in this class, there is something keeping you from regular training with the rest of your peers; working on your apprenticeship to graduate to Adept level; or gaining the much more valuable experience and education that only being on the field, or working an actual job can give you, where the failures for consequences are much higher than a simple failing mark, and your instructor telling you to try and do better next time.

<In short: the longer you’re here, the more precious time you’re taking away from better things.>

<Then why don’t you just get to the fucking point already?!> a gorilla Fae shouted from somewhere in the front.

Still smiling, Tygan casually held out his finger; electricity arced from the tip, striking the gorilla Fae and him alone.

<OW! SON OF A BITCH!>

Tygan ignored him and continued, <My job is simple: I will teach you all how to fight, and fight well.

<I will not be encouraging you to read up on the philosophy of elemental weaving, write essays and give speeches, and spend long hours in meditation, pondering on the nature of magic and the realm. I will not be testing you on how well you can remember past events, significant weavers and their accomplishments, understand how they led to certain milestones, or the present state of magical theory. I will not be tasking you with internships, and forcing you to contribute your talents and powers to certain ongoing public projects.

<Your job is equally as simple: hit me with your magic.

<Specifically, you will have to do it within five minutes, in a fair duel 1-1, or however many of you you think you’ll need, successfully hit me once with any spell, or magically charged technique. This can be anything from something that knocks me out completely and leaves me absolutely devastated, to a drop of water hitting my cheek.

<Basically, so long as there is clear, undeniable evidence that you have successfully struck me, you will pass, and are free to return to regular training or whatever else you please>

The same gorilla Fae from earlier snorted. <Shit, that’s all? You’re not fucking with us?>

Tygan nodded. <Yes, that is all. Do you wish to try—Goro Aneyama, is it?>

<Yeah, and that’s my name, Teach,> Goro said, getting up from his seat and walking up to Tygan. <Not that you’re gonna need to remember it, ‘cause I’m gonna be out of here soon enough.>

<Are you certain about this, Aneyama?> Tygan asked calmly.

<Did I fucking stutter?!> Goro snapped, throwing his bulky arms out.

Tygan nodded. <Very well then. Mender Polendina, if you will please bear witness and officiate, and if someone else would please help set up our duel, that would be much appreciated.>

Penny and two other weavers came up to draw a circle and barrier just outside of the tent, Tygan and Goro inside of it.

“This probably isn’t going to end well for him, isn’t it?” Weiss asked.

“Definitely not!” Winter said, before she smiled. “If it’s anything like Queensguard screening, though, it’s going to be extremely entertaining, at the least…”

The rest of the class seemed to agree, excited chatter and what sounded like talk about bets already starting, especially among those who knew either Goro or Tygan already. Weiss looked around and shook her head, declining when someone asked if she wanted to throw some money in the growing pot.

The barrier went up, at the barest minimum regulation would allow for two combatants. There was barely any place to move around in, close quarters engagement all but inevitable, little to no time to dodge any projectiles thrown, and absolutely no space to outrun all but the smallest of explosions or area-of-effect spells.

The two combatants put their masks on, pulled their hoods up, and had their respective spotters search and remove any accessories or weapons that weren’t allowed, or would prove a hindrance. As they hauled out of the barrier, Weiss and Winter looked at the combatants in turn:

Tygan, lean but muscular, his “coat” really more just a loose hooded vest, and equally loose pants. There were metallic threads and intricate designs on the fabric, and his rope belt had pulsing, enchanted fibers woven into it, but otherwise, there wasn’t much that would protect him from a direct hit, physical or magical.

Goro, stocky, his muscles thick and bulging, his coat covering his whole body, and adorned with numerous armour plates on non-flexible sections, most prominently his breastplate. Silvery lines covered the ceramic-like material, repaired cracks from battles and incidents long ago.

<Last chance if you want to back out, Aneyama!> Tygan called out, loud enough for all to hear. <No shame in passing on a fight when you know there’s nothing worth fighting for.>

<Oh, shut up, and let’s do the stupid ritual!> Goro yelled, punching his palm.

Unfazed, Tygan shrugged, and said, <Alright!>

Penny lead the pre-duel rites and projected a timer from her tail: 5:00. The audience started to cheer and howl as the two fighters got into their stances: Goro roared and slammed a foot on the ground as he threw his arms out, hands and the blood red “eyes” of his mask exploding in flames; and Tygan calmly spread his hooves apart, moved his open palms up to his chest.

One of the spotters blew the dueling horn, and Goro figuratively and literally exploded into action.

Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

He swung his arms wide through the air, throwing out five fireballs each time!

Tygan barely moved his hands, every single one of the projectiles suddenly violently veering off-course, exploding harmlessly on the barrier.

Goro roared as he charged Tygan with his fists swinging, flames raging from his knuckles to his shoulders, fiery explosions filling the barrier as he punched, lunged, smashed, and grappled with him. Tygan dodged and weaved around each and every single strike, ducking and bending his body at dramatic angles and elaborate poses, seemingly disappearing into thin air as he escaped Goro’s grasp and circled around and behind him.

<Hahaha! Teach is just straight fucking with him!> one student cried.

<Go Goro!> another one cried mockingly. <Flail harder, you’ll get him eventually!>

Goro howled in rage, exploding into white-hot flames; he cocked his arm, a brilliant flash erupting from his fist as he threw a flaming haymaker at Tygan!

Boom.

The students shielded their eyes, or cried out as they were temporarily blinded. A section of the barrier broke, thick white smoke pouring out of the breach before it quickly healed. Inside, Goro waved an arm in front of him as he shook his punching hand, his whole body glowing with faint red, magical residue.

The air suddenly cleared, the blinding smoke exploding out from the top of the barrier like a volcano; at its base, Tygan, calmly whisking his glowing hands up in turn, completely, absolutely untouched.

Goro stared at him, slack-jawed, before he glanced at the timer:

0:37

He turned back to Tygan, looking straight at him with his “smiling” mask, his arms spread wide as he made a “Come at me” gesture with his palms.

Goro roared, pounding his fists on his chest, the lines of red magic all over his body glowing painfully bright, fire shooting out from the silver seams in his armour, his whole figure enveloped in brilliant white flames.

He jumped up and raised his fists, slammed them both into the ground and sent a giant wall of fire and molten earth exploding out around him!

Tygan swept his foot in front of him, the burning shockwave blown away just before it reached him, the molten rocks flying to the side and breaking harmlessly on the shield. Then, he threw his glowing arms out, a ball of yellow, crackling magic spreading out around him, going past Goro, and sticking to the edges of the barrier, the inside now tinted in Tygan’s topaz yellow magic.

Goro snarled as he pulled himself out of the new crater in the ground, angrily pounding his fists on the dirt, before he suddenly gasped, clutched at his neck. His flames died out quickly as they burned through what little oxygen was left in the bubble, the red lines of mana all over his body rapidly faded. He frantically raised a violently trembling hand, the tip of his finger glowing in ever intenser red…

Pew!

Tygan didn’t even need to move as the feeble laser Goro shot at him missed completely.

The timer hit 0:00, one of the spotters blew the horn. The arena was filled with a loud, rushing sound as Tygan dispelled his magic completely, Goro gasped, coughed, and violently trembled, curling up into a ball as he hyperventilated.

Tygan stepped out of the dirt circle and left Goro to the spotters and Penny, taking his mask off to reveal the same pleasant expression as always. <Does anyone else want to try today?> he asked, holding his arms out. <You get a single chance every session, whenever you please!>

No one took him up on it.

<No takers?> Tygan shrugged, before casually thumbing behind him to the track. <Then all of you, except the spotters, Polendina, and Aneyama on the track, now,please.>

Note: A Vacuum Field is rarely, if ever used in real combat situations, as it can be easily escaped if used without the help of other physical/magical barriers, and the spell itself requires constant, intensely focused channeling by an air weaver to prevent new air coming in, much more for the time it would take for all the oxygen levels to deplete so dramatically that living beings aside from the weaver start to suffocate.

Unless they were being completely protected or unseen, the channeling can be disrupted very easily, and the spell will fail nigh instantly.

Air weavers are able to control their breathing extensively, to very dramatic effect at higher levels of skill. This is what allows them to completely hold their breath without ill-effects for stealth, survive poisoning by gas if they are unable to simply vent it or sustain a field of clean air around them, or stuff extremely, ill-advisedly large portions/servings of food in their mouths in one go.

Bee is still at Initiate level, but at the cusp of graduating to Adept, likely within the next few years after continued apprenticeship under Aeilana. The rest of the class still have a decade or so to go, excluding Weiss and Winter who are exceptional cases.

Tygan is already at Adept level, and remains under Primal Wenua as a post-graduate, assistant teacher. He is 25, and currently has no solid plans for trying to qualify for Master’s Rites.

There is no set minimum age for graduating to Adept, but the average age is 20, standard deviation of 3 or so years.

Only a very small percentage of Weavers ever graduate to the level of Master. Alongside having exceptional skill that far exceeds your peers’, you need to have proved that you can apply said powers to the betterment of Fae society in a significant manner, and earn an endorsement from an unbiased source.

This can involve training the newer generations of weavers and pass on your expertise (which can take decades of work, but is considered one of the two surest paths), but it can also be earned through exceptional combat records on the field or even just in the Pits (controversial and easily contested, but relatively faster and easier); through inventions, innovations, and advances in magitech and/or arcane theory (the second surest); outstanding service during a time of crisis (heavily reliant on luck and preparation); or a combination of any of the above.

The endorsement generally comes from a current, retired, or only recently deceased (within five years from their officially recorded date of death) Master Weaver, but non-weaver Fae of sufficiently high standing and influence in the society can endorse someone for the Master’s Rites all the same. In either case, however, there is still a screening board made of Adepts, Masters, and chosen individuals from the other Orders, though an endorsement from a Master Weaver tends to go much smoother.

The actual Rites tend to be a heavily guarded secret, mostly known only to Master’s, the most senior Chroniclers, and the Council, though there are allegedly several variations and ancient temples used for the ritual all over the Valley and the Cradle. There is no stigma to having failed a Master’s Rite, and it is generally considered an honorable distinction all on its own.

Once the title is earned, a Weaver can never be stripped of it, regardless of what they do afterward. The folks who endorsed them are rarely, if ever blamed or stigmatized if a weaver’s career tanks, or they go Rogue after achieving Master status.

As far as everyone’s concerned, as soon as you begin the Rites proper, everything you do from then on is entirely your responsibility, and no one else’s.  

Glynda earned the privilege to go through her Rite through her teaching work, and her experience with the Watchers, as a field soldier and as an administrator/officer. Aeilana’s was through a lifetime of Watcher service as both a warrior and trainer, along with several successful high risk missions/expeditions over the years, generally during the Flood.

In line with what Yang said, the three Furies plus Penny agreed to dedicate the rest of the morning to opposition research.

Reputation-wise, the original Furies were unremarkable. Individually, all of them were still at the lowest possible bracket, and as a team, they were still unranked; all of their official matches were open sign-ups, random selection, or took advantage of Sayuri being a weaver; and none of them were ever mentioned by name in the intros and the ads, much more folks clearly paying specifically to see them.

“They’re what we call ‘Grist,’ newbies and amateurs the management sets against each other to fill up the shows in between the big-name bouts,” she explained further. “Most folks forget about them after their fights, and they usually only get flat fees upfront for their footage, seeing as it tends to be generic highlights, B-rolls, or compilations, like people taking bad hits to the nuts.”

“Seriously?” Weiss asked.

“Yes,seriously!” Yang replied. “Anyway, don’t take their being Dust league to mean that they’re going to be weak! Everyone that rises up past that is a certified badass among decent fighters, and some folks willingly stay there as official, or self-appointed quality control, keep things exciting for Stone and beyond.”

Weiss and Pyrrha started to see just how much dangerous they were as they started renting holos, and watching the original Furies in action.

Fzzssh!

A lightning ball struck a muscular rhino Fae, she gritted her teeth and stiffened as her whole body visibly coursed with electricity, sparks flying everywhere. Keren launched Vigne into the air, a rain of throwing spears isolated the stunned rhino from her allies. Vigne and Sayuri chased them off immediately after, either forcing them to dodge and weave around a flurry of dance-like kicks and slashes from her talons, or blowing them away with a compressed air explosion.

The rhino recovered, just in time to see Keren charging for her; the two of them figuratively and literally locked horns, kicking up huge clouds of dirt as they wrestled.

WHAM!

Keren headbutted her opponent, dazing her long enough to pick her up, and hurl her into both of their teammates’ ways!

Vigne’s eyes widened and her feathers rose straight up, before she tackled Sayuri into the dirt, lightning discharging into the ground, several throwing spears spilling out of her quiver and clattering onto the dirt.

Their opponents smiled as they readied their weapons over their prone forms… then, their rhino friend slammed into them both, sending the whole trio flying and rolling out of bounds, right into the arms of a waiting spotter team.

“That was sloppy,”Pyrrha said, frowning. “She could have seriously injured her teammates, too; left them vulnerable to attack; and caused unnecessary down time in the middle of the combat, not giving any heads-up whatsoever like that.”

“Yeah, that tends to be the reason folks like her stay in Dust league,” Yang said.

The original Furies were eliminated soon after, and they moved on to another match. KO/scoring; objective-based fights like capture the flag; or special rule sets and arenas, they found that the Furies won some, lost some, and generally worked well together, until someone made a reckless mistake (Keren), a risky, flashy, elaborate maneuver ended in catastrophe (Vigne), or they simply ran out of energy (Sayuri).

By 1PM, they wrapped it up, both for lunch, and the Schnee sisters being due at the Terrace at 2.

“… So let me get this straight,” Winter asked as they ate, “you’ve only just registered, haven’t even had a single official match, and already you have sworn enemies, and will be having an important, possibly career-jeopardizing bout with them in a month?”

“Pretty much,” Weiss said as she picked up some more savory pie with her fork. “Looks like that mysterious force that’s been constantly fucking me over has regained its momentum, after its two week break. On the bright side, maybe I’ll finally start becoming desensitized, and this constant cavalcade of crap will start feelingless awful,” she said, before she put it into her mouth.

“Aww, c’mon, Weiss, don’t be like that!” Nora said, talking with her mouth full and gesturing wildly with her hands and utensils as she spoke. “This’ll be a greatopportunity for you Furies to earn some serious brownie points with the audience!:

“Fighting for the right to keep your name from jealous rivals? The whole Fae VS Human/Hybrid dynamic you’ve got going? Your reputations each?

“All that’s going to make you stand out from the crowd now—definitely end of act 1 material for your future documentary holo, for sure!” she said, nodding.

Weiss swallowed, and asked, “And if we happen to lose?”

“You can still turn it around to your favour!” Nora replied.

“You can hope that the original Furies become your long-term rivals, matching you rank for rank as you both climb up the ladder, drive each other to improve, all the while developing a deep, mutual respect for one another as fellow Pit fighters, andmilking for all its worth in your advertising!

“You can take the defeat as a baptism by fire, that one match you never, ever forget, and flashback to it when you’re on the verge of defeat, before using it to turn the tables and kick ass to victory! Or, you can use as the story for your big motivational speeches, inspiring you and everyone you’re fighting with to win the big tournaments, especiallyaround promotion season!

“Then, when you’re finally in the Etherite league, and you happen to run into the original Furies off-field and set, and you can tell them, ‘Thanks for beating us in that match-up way back when. I’m sure we wouldn’t have made it this far if it weren’t for that fight.’” Nora said, making a poor impression of Weiss’ voice.

“I mean, technically it could go in a whole lot of other, less awesome ways, like you quitting the Pits because you can’t earn enough Shinies to make a decent living out of it,  but honestly, I’m not getting that sort of vibe from the conclusions of the arcs you’ve already been through, so I doubtthis’ll end up being just a one-off event during the early or middle episodes, before being forgotten entirely as the plot revolves around some other recurring conflict for the rest of this season.”

Weiss, Winter, Jaune, and Pyrrha blankly stared at her.

“Nora tends to see the world in terms of story structure, character archetypes, and how certain works in specific genres tend to go, thanks to all her HV consumption over the years,” Ren explained calmly.

“Before you ask: no, the menders have yet to declare her excessive HV consumption as a problem, as none of her behaviours directly related to it have significantly impeded her daily living, nor caused her or anyone else any clear, significant distress and/or harm,” Penny chimed in as she charged on the counter.

Pyrrha nodded slowly. “I don’t mean any offense, but that seems like an overly simplistic way to understand the world—It’s infinitely more complex and unpredictable than fiction ever could be, for one.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know!” Nora replied. “But in my defense, that’s only when you expect the wrong kind of development and events to happen to a certain character! If you know what role someone is playing in a story, then predicting what’s going to happen next or what they’ll do will be easy—take Weiss being a protagonist, for example.”

Weiss stopped in the middle of bringing more food to her mouth. “Excuse me? No, you know what? Nevermind, can we please switch topics?”

“Sure!” Nora said. “How about the game plan for how you’re totally going to kick the original Furies asses in your big duel?!”

“Eh, it’s really only just vague ideas at the moment!” Yang said, waving her off. “We’ve still got at least 2-3 official match-ups before we tussle with Keren’s team; still need to find weapons Pyrrha wants to stick with; and still need to see just how much Weiss can do while that collar’s still on her.

“Speaking of which: Weiss, do me a favour and try and sign up for combat training today, alright? We need to know ASAP if the worst you can do to someone is throw a nasty snowball at them.”

“Will do,” Weiss replied.

The rest of the conversation moved on to recommendations about Fae weapons and their associated styles that Pyrrha had yet to try and might suit her, before Weiss and Winter headed back to their home and started gearing up for their trip to the Weaver’s Terrace.

With Idun and five other summons in the soul stones on Winter’s belt, and Penny hitched on Weiss’ back like a bag, they headed out.

The Terrace was even busier than usual when they got there, the Water Quadrant surrounded with what looked to be an area-wide, semi-translucent barrier, with numerous warning signs, cycling notices, and numerical counters slowly revolving around it.

Even from the very edge, it was easy to see the giant aquatic and amphibious animals, elementals, and summons constantly diving into and emerging from numerous points all over the water; massive construction equipment and maker/weaver teams working by the docks, the shallows, and the destroyed buildings and trees; and the convoys constantly bringing in materials and supplies from outside, or taking away debris and salvaged equipment from within.

The other three quadrants were no exception to the construction and logistics blitz.

Everywhere you looked, there were canvas tents, mud buildings, and huts so recent the leaves on their roofs were sometimes still fresh, being used as temporary shelters, or upgraded into more solid buildings. Alongside them were no shortage of industrial water pumps; pools of all sizes; and cooling devices from outdoor air conditioners, temperature-controlled enclosures, or even just refrigerators to keep drinking water, beverages, potions, cold packs, and the occasional overheated elemental cold.

The myriad research, projects, and training were still mostly going on as usual, but evidently the crowding was making some of the more space-consuming and adventurous of them difficult—the folks underneath the more fragile huts clearlydid not appreciate the air and fire weavers flying overhead and nearly ripping their roofs off.

In spite of Weiss being one of the root causes of this whole predicament, however, it seemed no one really held a grudge against her, or cared to show it to her face; she and Winter were calmly informed of which quadrant they were assigned to for the day, and though heads turned and folks talked, it seemed to be without malice, and they willingly gave them seats on a large flying ship that was about to head out.

Granted, this time, they were expected to help power up the turbines and propellers along with everyone else.

<Weavers, ready?!> said the Fae standing at the fore.

<Aye!> everyone cried back, their summons making similar noises.

<ONWARDS!>

Everyone cheered and roared as the interior lit up with all manner of colours of magic, until they merged into a uniform blue-green. The pipes started to rattle and hum from the pressure, the turbines roared to life, most of the folks and some of their summons broke into a chantey, before the vehicle flew off, into the dense thickets and floating islands of the Air Quadrant.

Eventually, they disembarked a busy shipping dock, the ancient wooden floors crowded with folks, animals, elementals, and cargo moving, boarding or being loaded on the ships landing and taking off like clockwork.

“Weiss! Winter!” Bee yelled over the hubbub, only the glowing, pulsing tip of her staff visible from where the sisters stood. “Over here!”

“I think you should go ahead without me,” Winter said as she watched her summons return to her, each one of them “sweating” and struggling to keep their forms stable. “They all look like they could use a longsoak in mana water for a while.”

“It’s fine, we’ll meet up later!” Weiss said, giving Winter a quick hug before she tried to slip into the crowds.

“Try not to cause any more massive disasters in the meanwhile!” Winter called out cheerfully.

Weiss scowled and tried to shoot her a look, but the crowds were already pushing her further away, blocking her from view; with a quiet sigh, she turned her eyes back to Bee’s staff and worked her way through the crush.

“Good afternoon, Weiss!” Bee said as Weiss stepped up to her. “You ready to resume your training?”

“Yes, but is there any chance I might be able to focus on combat?” Weiss asked. “I’m pretty sure this has made my control and excessive output problems non-issues for now,” she said, touching her collar.

“Already way ahead of you, Weiss!” Bee said, grinning. “I’ve been sending out requests to the other teachers to borrow their own students, to make the minimum headcount for a combat class with special cases much like yourself. It was almost dissolved today, actually, but then the one student we needed to make it suddenly came beggingfor the last slot, right out of the blue!”

“That’s convenient!” Weiss said, smiling. “A little tooconvenient,” she continued, frowning.

“Is something rubbing you the wrong way about this, Weiss?” Bee asked.

“Just a hunch that the universe is going to compensate for this in the most awful way possible, as usual,” Weiss replied.

Before Bee could reply, she noticed someone behind Weiss. “Oh, speak of the devil, there she is right now!” she said as she raised her staff and waved it in the air again. “Over here, Sayuri!”

For a brief moment, Weiss considered that perhaps “Sayuri” was just a common name among Valley Fae, and that this was an entirely different Sayuri altogether, much like how you could find a great deal of people named “John” and variations thereof…

… But as offended screeching pierced through the air, and a tiny, angry, sparking meerkat quickly stormed up to Bee, she remembered she just wasn’t that lucky.